Book Brief · P3 (Prompt → Program → Proof)

Leonhard Euler — Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment

Ronald S. Calinger · Princeton University Press · 696 pp (HC 2015; PB 2019)

Biography History of Mathematics Enlightenment Opera Omnia

P3 Summary: Prompt → Program → Proof

Prompt & Question

Prompt: Create a concise, self-contained brief of Calinger’s full-scale biography of Euler, with historical context and reliable metadata.

Question: What makes this biography distinctive, how is it situated in scholarship, and what are the key publication facts (dates, pages, ISBNs)?

Data (Sources)

  • Princeton catalogs & sample chapter PDF for official description, quotes, and specs (pages, HC price/ISBN).[1], [2], [3]
  • MAA review; reviews in Nature and Br. J. Hist. Sci. for scholarly context.[4], [5], [6]
  • Retailer records for dates/pages/ISBNs (HC 2015; PB 2019).[7], [8]
  • Euler Archive & Eneström index for counts and primary-source orientation.[9], [10]

Logic (How we evaluate)

  1. Use Princeton materials for canonical description and specs.
  2. Use review venues for scholarly positioning (importance, scope).
  3. Use the Euler Archive to ground claims about the corpus and indexing.

Program (Driver)

A tiny “check” harness ensures every data-claim has at least one footnote in Citations.

// Pseudocode
const claims=[...document.querySelectorAll('[data-claim]')];
for (const c of claims) assert(c.querySelector('sup a[href^="#fn-"]'));
Proof = Reason Why + Check. “Reason Why” summarizes evidence; “Check” verifies structure.

Answer (TL;DR)

Calinger’s book is a comprehensive, source-driven biography that ties Euler’s life to his astonishing scientific output; Princeton first issued the hardcover in 2015 (696 pp; ISBN 9780691119274) and later a 2019 paperback edition.[2], [7], [8]

Reason Why (Evidence)

Princeton catalog copy and endorsements emphasize it as the first real full-scale biography, drawing on Euler’s massive published works and correspondence; specs list 696 pages and 55 halftones.[2], [1]

Major venues reviewed the book: Nature called it a panoramic biography; the British Journal for the History of Science and MAA Reviews provide scholarly assessments.[5], [6], [4]

Princeton’s sample chapter confirms the historical framing and approach (Enlightenment context, life-to-work narrative).[3]

Check (Self-test)

Automated checks: (1) every claim cites a source; (2) required sections exist; (3) core metadata parses.

    Running checks…

    Euler Track: Scope & Sources of the Life/Work

    1. Corpus size: Euler’s known works are indexed by the Eneström catalog (E1–E866).[10]
    2. Opera Omnia: The biography is grounded in Euler’s collected works and correspondence (dozens of volumes), a key reason for the book’s depth.[1]
    3. Fields touched: Catalog and reviews highlight contributions spanning analysis, mechanics/physics, astronomy, and number theory—set in their Enlightenment institutions.[2], [5]
    4. Primary-source hub: The Euler Archive provides open access to originals/translations and context that complements the biography.[9]
    Takeaway: Calinger’s narrative + the Archive’s corpus let readers connect Euler’s life (St. Petersburg, Berlin, return to Russia) to the sheer scale and diversity of his mathematics.[3], [9]

    Themes

    1. Life intertwined with institutions. Euler’s career arcs through academies and political contexts; the book embeds proofs and papers in that fabric.[3], [1]
    2. Scale of production. Reviews and Archive figures underscore an almost unparalleled output across mathematics and physics.[5], [10]

    Studies & Context

    • Scholarly reception: Reviews in MAA, Nature, and BJHS discuss scope, strengths, and historiography.[4], [5], [6]
    • Editions: Hardcover first published 2015; paperback released 2019 (same page count) with new ISBN.[7], [8]

    Glossary (quick reference)

    Eneström number
    Identifier E1–E866 assigned to Euler’s works in Gustaf Eneström’s catalog; widely used by historians and in the Euler Archive.[10]
    Opera Omnia
    Euler’s collected works; the biography draws heavily on this corpus and correspondence.[1]
    Euler Archive
    Online repository of Euler’s original publications, translations, and resources, maintained with MAA/University partners.[9]

    Book Metadata

    • Title: Leonhard Euler: Mathematical Genius in the Enlightenment.[1]
    • Author: Ronald S. Calinger.[1]
    • Publisher: Princeton University Press.[2]
    • Publication: Hardcover 2015-11-24; Paperback 2019-12-03.[7], [8]
    • Pages: 696; HC ISBN: 978-0-691-11927-4; PB ISBN: 978-0-691-19640-4.[2], [8]

    Citations (for this page)

    1. Princeton University Press — Mathematics 2016 catalog (description, quotes). :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
    2. Princeton University Press — Physics & Astrophysics 2016 catalog (HC specs: 2015, 696 pp, 55 halftones; ISBN). :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
    3. Princeton University Press — Sample chapter (Introduction). :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
    4. MAA Reviews — review of Calinger’s book. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
    5. Nature — review by Davide Castelvecchi (2015). :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
    6. British Journal for the History of Science — review note with 2016 reference. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
    7. Amazon (EU) — hardcover listing with 696 pages; 2015-11-24 publication. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
    8. Retail listing — paperback (2019-12-03), 696 pages, ISBN 9780691196404. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
    9. Euler Archive — portal to Euler’s works and resources. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
    10. University of the Pacific — Eneström index overview (E1–E866). :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

    This brief paraphrases public information; it does not reproduce the book’s text.