A mathematician rooted in the century. (Un mathématicien aux prises avec le siècle.) (French) Zbl 0913.01043

Schwartz, Laurent

Paris: Editions Odile Jacob. 528 p. (1997).

This impressive volume is the fascinating autobiography written by Laurent Schwartz, one of the most famous mathematicians of the 20th century (awarded with the Fields medal in 1950, member of the Academy of Sciences).
The book reads like a romance: the years of childhood, the garden, the parents, the discovery of the wonders of every day, etc., all that takes us into a world which cannot exist any longer. Ample space is devoted to the years of his intellectual formation (after the discovery of mathematics – geometry, mainly), L’Ecole polytechnique, the years of war, the beautiful girls having inspired him, the political options, etc.
A special chapter is devoted to the social events in which Laurent Schwartz took an active part and/or expressed a firm attitude: the problems of Algery, the war of Vietnam and then, the one in Afghanistan, the Jewish problem a.s.o.
A man-of-science and a fighter.

Reviewer: C.Irimia (Iaşi)

MSC:

01A70	Biographies, obituaries, personalia, bibliographies
01A60	History of mathematics in the 20th century

Keywords:

Laurent Schwartz; mathematics; geometry; Jews; war; Algery; Vietnam