A Course of Pure Mathematics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Course of Pure Mathematics is a classic textbook in introductory mathematical analysis, written by G. H. Hardy. It was first published in 1908, and went through many editions.
It was intended to help reform mathematics teaching in the UK, and more specifically in the University of Cambridge, and in schools preparing pupils to study mathematics at Cambridge. As such, it was aimed directly at "scholarship level" students — the top 10% to 20% by ability. The book contains a large number of difficult problems.
The content covers introductory calculus and the theory of infinite series. The exposition is quite leisurely, but the attention to rigour high. Hardy at the period when he wrote it had successfully implemented reforms of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge, making it less a test of sheer problem-solving technique. In writing his Pure Mathematics he was proposing a course of study preliminary to a French-style Cours d'Analyse, at the time a benchmark for a mathematical education leading to research in the field.
