The properties of regular solids exercise a fascination which often appeals strongly to the mathematically inclined, whether they are professionals, students or amateurs. In this classic book Professor Coxeter explores these properties in easy stages, introducing the reader to complex polyhedra (a beautiful generalization of regular solids derived from complex numbers) and unexpected relationships with concepts from various branches of mathematics: magic squares, frieze patterns, kaleidoscopes, Cayley diagrams, Clifford surfaces, crystallographic and non-crystallographic groups, kinematics, spherical trigonometry, and algebraic geometry. In the latter half of the book, these preliminary ideas are put together to describe a natural generalization of the Five Platonic Solids. This updated second edition contains a new chapter on Almost Regular Polytopes, with beautiful 'abstract art' drawings. New exercises and discussions have been added throughout the book, including an introduction to Hopf fibration and real representations for two complex polyhedra.

The properties of regular solids exercise a fascination which often appeals strongly to the mathematically inclined, whether they are professionals, students or amateurs. In this classic book Professor Coxeter explores these properties in easy stages, introducing the reader to complex polyhedra (a beautiful generalization of regular solids derived from complex numbers) and unexpected relationships with concepts from various branches of mathematics: magic squares, frieze patterns, kaleidoscopes, Cayley diagrams, Clifford surfaces, crystallographic and non-crystallographic groups, kinematics, spherical trigonometry, and algebraic geometry. In the latter half of the book, these preliminary ideas are put together to describe a natural generalization of the Five Platonic Solids. This updated second edition contains a new chapter on Almost Regular Polytopes, with beautiful 'abstract art' drawings. New exercises and discussions have been added throughout the book, including an introduction to Hopf fibration and real representations for two complex polyhedra.

Abstract regular polytopes stand at the end of more than two millennia of geometrical research, which began with regular polygons and polyhedra. They are highly symmetric combinatorial structures with distinctive geometric, algebraic or topological properties; in many ways more fascinating than traditional regular polytopes and tessellations. The rapid development of the subject in the past 20 years has resulted in a rich new theory, featuring an attractive interplay of mathematical areas, including geometry, combinatorics, group theory and topology. Abstract regular polytopes and their groups provide an appealing new approach to understanding geometric and combinatorial symmetry. This is the first comprehensive up-to-date account of the subject and its ramifications, and meets a critical need for such a text, because no book has been published in this area of classical and modern discrete geometry since Coxeter's Regular Polytopes (1948) and Regular Complex Polytopes (1974). The book should be of interest to researchers and graduate students in discrete geometry, combinatorics and group theory.

Foremost book available on polytopes, incorporating ancient Greek and most modern work. Discusses polygons, polyhedrons, and multi-dimensional polytopes. Definitions of symbols. Includes 8 tables plus many diagrams and examples. 1963 edition.