The Early Mathematics of Leonhard Euler

Describes Euler's early mathematical works - the 50 mathematical articles he wrote before he left St. Petersburg in 1741 to join the Academy of Frederick the Great in Berlin. These works contain some of Euler's greatest mathematics: the Konigsburg bridge problem, his solution to the Basel problem, his first proof of the Euler-Fermat theorem. Also presented are important results that we seldom realize are due to Euler: that mixed partial derivatives are equal, our f(x) notation, and the integrating factor in differential equations. The book is a portrait of the world's most exciting mathematics between 1725 and 1741, rich in technical detail, woven with connections within Euler's work and with the work of other mathematicians in other times and places, laced with historical context.