A Course of Pure Mathematics
by G. H. Hardy, Thomas William Körner · first published 1908
65% recommend29% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Rigorous, well-written 1908 calculus and analysis text that rebuilds results carefully from first principles; recommended to students moving into proof-based math and to those wanting a deeper grasp of calculus.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2017–2020The magic of math
Arthur Benjamin
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2014–2021Euler
William Dunham
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
2013–2026Littlewood's Miscellany
John E. Littlewood
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 51 recommend · 5 mention1 recommend · 51 recommend
2009–2026Calculus the easy way
Douglas Downing
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 76 recommend · 7 mention6 recommend · 76 recommend
Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 119 recommend · 11 mention9 recommend · 119 recommend
Geometry and the imagination
David Hilbert
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 107 recommend · 10 mention7 recommend · 107 recommend
2010–2026An introduction to the theory of numbers
Ivan Morton Niven, H. S. Zuckerman, Hugh L. Montgomery
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 106 recommend · 10 mention6 recommend · 106 recommend
2008–2025What is mathematics?
Richard Courant, Herbert Robbins
Recommended by 45 · mentioned by 5145 recommend · 51 mention45 recommend · 5145 recommend
I would highly recommend reading: - A Course of Pure Mathematics (G. H. Hardy). I read this before I started my undergrad in CS/Maths. Free Online. - University Calculus (Hass, et. al.). This was reading for my first year, and continued to be useful throughout. Expensive.…
on “Ask HN: How or where to begin learning mathematics from first principles?” ↗Read G.H. Hardy's Introduction to Number Theory, Then possibly A Course of Pure Mathematics, also by him. Note that the level for which you're aiming, is a level wherein such summation is much closer to triviality, than it is to `black magic` - whatever that means.
on “Project Euler” ↗…Approach (Daniel Velleman) - Kiselev's Geometry - Planimetry and Stereometry - Trigonometry (Israel Gelfand) - What Is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods (Richard Courant) - A Course of Pure Mathematics (G.H. Hardy) - Linear Algebra (Kenneth Hoffman and Ray Kunze) - Elementary Differential Equations (William Boyce and Richard DiPrima) - Topology (James Munkres) - Calculus On Manifolds (Michael Spivak)…
on “Mathematician's anger over his unread 500-page proof” ↗If they like calculus and can stand proofs, I’d recommend a Course of Pure Mathematics by Hardy. It totally blew my mind when I was that age, to see how everything was “connected” by proofs, starting with real numbers. Despite being proof heavy, I found the writing style singularly legible…
on “Ask HN: Recommend a maths book for a teenager?” ↗G.H. Hardy, A Course of Pure Mathematics. Old but beautiful, redoes results which you may well know but with rigour.
on “Ask HN: Math book recommendation for a long detached engineering major?” ↗What math textbooks used in the late 19th or early 20th century are still great right now?Something like G.H Hardy's A Course of Pure Mathematics
on “Ask HN: Classic Math Books?” ↗…calculus and real analysis in its two volumes in a single long sequence, but the writing style is very pleasant and the exposition very intuitive, and it includes a lot of physics applications. Hardy "A course of pure mathematics" is great too, but it is much more, well, pure, but it stays relatively intuitive and the clarity with which he writes is unparalleled, many things I first really understood from this book. Those are…
on “Math topics useful for computer science/programming” ↗My recommendations: Hardy, A Course of Pure Mathematics. Knuth, Graham and Patashnik, Concrete Mathematics. Hoffman and Kunze, Linear Algebra (there are several free online books on Linear Algebra and Vector Spaces, Strang, Axler, Lang Halmos and Shilov are…
on “Ask HN: good math books” ↗…an unhappy point in his life, reflecting back on what he has done. It belongs more to the literature about artists and creativity, than to books of mathematical content. For that, see instead Hardy's Course of Pure Mathematics [1] If you do read the Apology, be sure to get an edition with C.P. Snow's forward, which gives the back story that puts Hardy's memoir in context. It also includes the wonderful story of Hardy and…
on “A Mathematician’s Apology” ↗…"knew" enough calculus to get good grades in math courses through high school and college as an engineer. But I didn't really "know" calculus until I read a book not too dissimilar from this one, "A Course of Pure Mathematics" from 1908 (!), which constructs calculus up from number theory (I think the fundamental theorem of calculus comes halfway through the book?). From that point it's impossible to forget. As for why it's…
on “Calculus Made Easy” ↗Hardy's "A course of Pure Mathematics" has been highly regarded since it was first published in 1908 because it was an innovative text: rigorous, modern, well-written. Its intended readership was always first year "honours" mathematics students.…
on ““A Course of Pure Mathematics” – G. H. Hardy (1921) [pdf]” ↗Maybe Calculus Made Easy by S. Thompson (more recently revised by Martin Gardner, but that new edition is under copyright). Maybe Hardy's Course of Pure Mathematics. However... Modern books use, in some areas and cases, more modern notation and approaches. That's helpful because math is not just knowledge but a language for communicating that knowledge. If money…
on “Free public domain ebooks in PDf, ePub, mobi formats” ↗I'm reading A Course of Pure Mathematics, by G. H. (Godfrey Harold) Hardy – available free on Gutenberg. In the first chapter he presents the following problem (on rational numbers): If λ, m, and n are positive rational numbers, and m >…
on “Ask HN: Pure Math Problem” ↗Hardy's comment about math being a "young man's game" has bothered me since I read his "Course of Pure Mathematics" about 10 years ago. I'm sure there's at least a bit of truth to the statement that mathematical discovery is, in general, easier for younger minds, but it seems to be an unnecessary and harmful trope…
on “The Pursuit of Beauty: Yitang Zhang solves a pure-math mystery” ↗…scientists, engineers, workers, etc. - let alone the tools that they use - for the way the product of their work is used. Also, to be fair, the elementary analysis book which Hardy wrote under the title A Course of Pure Mathematics by today's standards would hardly qualify as a book on 'pure math' anyway.
on “A Mathematician's Apology (1940) [pdf]” ↗