I noticed I a made a mistake in some geometrical terminology and wanted to better my life by buying a new dictionary of mathematics or more specialised Geometry. (okay I am just a shopaholic for maths and books)
i went to my local bookshop (and that was one of the biggest bookshops in London UK) but was a bit disapointed by what I could buy, there was only the "Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics" and the "Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics"
I did some tests
First test "polar": (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_and_polar , this was a term I used in a wrong maner)
Penguin does mention it but the description is a bit wonky, only explained for an ellipse and doesn't mention inversion
Oxford doesn't mention polar at all, it goes straight to "polar coordinates"
Second test " stereographic projection " ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereographic_projection , specially the description or drawing should make sure that you can use this projection for more than a half sphere , and what is the name of the point where the lines start from, "the pole")
Oxford, doesn't give related terminology (no wonder pole was missing anyway)
Penguin, bad drawing , looks like only a half spere can be projected.
So at the end I was a disapointed in both of them, can somebody advice a better reference than the two above?
I am specially interested in geometrical terms, and do like figures and construction instructions, my budget is about the price of the two above together, systematic dictionaries (terms related to one object put together) would be even better.
Or maybe even a geometry textbook with a very extensive glossary.
a version for a kindle would also be okay.
Any suggestions for me spending my new year money? (and getting used to use the right terminology)
Best Answer
If you are a shopaholic of good math books, let me recommend you one that has a broad perspective of Math and has projective geometry in it: "Mathematics and Its History" by John Stillwell. I have the third edition (2010), but there are second (2001) and first (1989) editions. I like how the topics are developed in a historic context: interconnected according to its roots throughout civilizations and time.