Analytical Book Review: Gauss: A Biographical Study

In the introduction to Gauss: A Biographical Story,

Walter Kaufman Buhler (1) states that his intent was to address his work "to the contemporary mathematician and scientist, not to the historian of science or the psychologist collecting the scalps of great men." Simply put, the focus of Buhler's (1) "biographical study" is to examine not solely the professional contributions of this important mathematician, but to place the life of Carl Friedrich Gauss in the context of the era in which he lived and the "extraordinary political and social developments" that characterized that era. Consequently, the reader should not expect that the text will dwell on the "products" of an admittedly great mind, but rather on linking those "products" not only to the scientist's personal life and the events that shaped and informed that life. One should also expect that Buhler's (2) "guidebook" will resonate most especially with those readers already somewhat knowledgeable regarding Gauss himself, the historical context in which he lived an work, and the work he produced and its place in mathematics and science.

As a guidebook, therefore, the reader understands that the structure of Buhler's work will be somewhat complex and comprehensive. Buhler is not content to simply present, in chronological order, the circumstances of the subject's life and the achievements of his career. Rather, Buhler moves from Gauss's childhood and youth t

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his intellect more effectively than his social superiors, rises to the top of his field. At the same time, Buhler (14û15) indicates that Gauss became a somewhat conservative individual in the political sense, focused almost exclusively on his work and largely tending to ignore the currents of socio-political change taking place outside the academic Ivory Tower in which he lived. This seems, at first glance, to be an assessment suggesting that Buhler's frequent digressions into sociopolitical events taking place in Germany between 1789 and 1848 and during other key eras are unnecessary or at least somewhat extraneous to the text. That being said, it is important to recognize that Buhler is doing academics and professionals in the fields of statistics and mathematics a favor by compiling not only a biography of Gauss, but also an analysis of some of his more important work. The text is authoritative, complete, and thorough, it at times seemingly disjointed. It is not a particularly lengthy text given that the 15 chapters and the various Interchapters plus an introduction and an epilogue comprise only 161 pages in all. Comments regarding Buhler's writing are also worth offering. On the one hand, Buhler uses an academ
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Approximate Word count = 1761
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)