Polyhedra have cropped up in many different guises throughout recorded history. In modern times, polyhedra and their symmetries have been cast in a new light by combinatorics an d group theory. This book comprehensively documents the many and varied ways that polyhedra have come to the fore throughout the development of mathematics. The author strikes a balance between covering the historical development of the theory surrounding polyhedra, and presenting a rigorous treatment of the mathematics involved. It is attractively illustrated with dozens of diagrams to illustrate ideas that might otherwise prove difficult to grasp. Historians of mathematics, as well as those more interested in the mathematics itself, will find this unique book fascinating.

This classic geometry text explores the theory of 3-dimensional convex polyhedra in a unique fashion, with exceptional detail. Vital and clearly written, the book includes the basics of convex polyhedra and collects the most general existence theorems for convex polyhedra that are proved by a new and unified method. This edition includes a comprehensive bibliography by V.A. Zalgaller, and related papers as supplements to the original text.

he author describes simply and carefully how to make models of all the known uniform polyhedra and some of the stellated forms.

Demonstrates the properties of geometrical structures by showing how to buid three-dimensional shapes using easily accessible materials.

This second edition is based off of the very popular Shaping Space: A Polyhedral Approach, first published twenty years ago. The book is expanded and updated to include new developments, including the revolutions in visualization and model-making that the computer has wrought. Shaping Space is an exuberant, richly-illustrated, interdisciplinary guide to three-dimensional forms, focusing on the suprisingly diverse world of polyhedra. Geometry comes alive in Shaping Space, as a remarkable range of geometric ideas is explored and its centrality in our cultre is persuasively demonstrated. The book is addressed to designers, artists, architects, engineers, chemists, computer scientists, mathematicians, bioscientists, crystallographers, earth scientists, and teachers at all levels—in short, to all scholars and educators interested in, and working with, two- and three-dimensinal structures and patterns.

The present essay stems from a history of polyhedra from 1750 to 1866 written several years ago (as part of a more general work, not published). So many contradictory statements regarding a Descartes manuscript and Euler, by various mathematicians and historians of mathematics, were encountered that it was decided to write a separate study of the relevant part of the Descartes manuscript on polyhedra. The contemplated short paper grew in size, as only a detailed treatment could be of any value. After it was completed it became evident that the entire manuscript should be treated and the work grew some more. The result presented here is, I hope, a complete, accurate, and fair treatment of the entire manuscript. While some views and conclusions are expressed, this is only done with the facts before the reader, who may draw his or her own conclusions. I would like to express my appreciation to Professors H. S. M. Coxeter, Branko Griinbaum, Morris Kline, and Dr. Heinz-Jiirgen Hess for reading the manuscript and for their encouragement and suggestions. I am especially indebted to Dr. Hess, of the Leibniz-Archiv, for his assistance in connection with the manuscript. I have been greatly helped in preparing the translation ofthe manuscript by the collaboration of a Latin scholar, Mr. Alfredo DeBarbieri. The aid of librarians is indispensable, and I am indebted to a number of them, in this country and abroad, for locating material and supplying copies.