The Principles of Mathematics: Vol. 1 is a terrific introduction to the fundamental concepts of mathematics. Although the book's title involves mathematics, it is not a textbook packed with equations and theorems. Instead philosopher Bertrand Russell uses mathematics to explore the structure of logic. Russell's ultimate point is that mathematics is logic and logic itself is truth.
The book is substantial and covers all subjects of mathematics. It is divided into seven sections: indefinables in mathematics, number, quantity, order, infinity and continuity, space, matter and motion. Russell covers all the major developments of mathematics and the contributions of important figures to the field. His sharp mind is evident throughout The Principles of Mathematics, as he challenges established rules and teachers readers how to think through difficult problems using logic.
Russell was one of the great minds of the 20th Century. In this book he discusses how his ideas were influenced by the logician Peano. He also debates other philosophers and mathematicians, and even anticipates the Theory of Relativity, which had not yet been published by Einstein.
One does not need to love mathematics to gain insights from The Principles of Mathematics: Vol. 1. Those who are interested in logic, intellectualism, philosophy or history will find significant insights into logical principles. Readers who desire an intellectual challenge will truly enjoy The Principles of Mathematics: Vol. 1.
The second volume, in which I have had the great good fortune to secure the collaboration of Mr A. N. Whitehead, will be addressed exclusively to mathematicians; it will contain chains of deductions, from the premisses of symbolic logic through Arithmetic, finite and infinite, to Geometry, in an order similar to that adopted in the present volume; it will also contain various original developments, in which the method of Professor Peano, as' supplemented by the Logic of Relations, has shown itself a powerful instrument of mathematical investigation.