The Hilbert Challenge
"...the story about the interaction of the personalities and the split between pure and applied mathematics makes very interesting reading. Mathematics is in many ways just another human endeavor, subject to petty spats, nationalistic rivalries and personal biases. While emphasis is on the famous 23 problems, enough effort is expended on what else he did to make the book as much a biography of Hilbert as it is on the problems he posed. That alone would make it well worth reading." --Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics, May 2001"[R]ecommended to everybody interested in the twentieth century mathematics."--Zentralblatt MATH"[C]ontains illuminating information about the mathematical development and contributions of Hilbert himself and an expert's panoramic view of the mathematics in this period."--American Mathematical Monthly