ERNEST IRVING FREESE'S "GEOMETRIC TRANSFORMATIONS": THE MAN, THE MANUSCRIPT, THE MAGNIFICENT DISSECTIONS!

Book info: ERNEST IRVING FREESE'S "GEOMETRIC TRANSFORMATIONS": THE MAN, THE MANUSCRIPT, THE MAGNIFICENT DISSECTIONS! (Paperback, 432 pages) – World Scientific Publishing Company, 2018. Language: English.

A geometric dissection is a cutting of a geometric figure (such as a regular polygon, or a star, or a cross) into pieces that we can rearrange to form another geometric figure. The best dissections are beautiful and possess economy (few pieces), symmetry, or hingeability. They are often challenging to discover.

Ernest Irving Freese was an architect who lived and worked in Los Angeles until his death in 1957. Shortly before he passed away, he completed a 200-page manuscript on geometric dissection, the first book-length treatment on that subject. Freese included elegant drawings of dissections that were both original and clever. After his death the manuscript lay forgotten in his former house until Greg Frederickson set in motion its recovery in 2003. What a treat that it was rescued!

Frederickson's book sketches a history of geometric dissections and a biography of Freese, followed by a refurbished copy of Freese's manuscript interleaved with a commentary that highlights Freese's major contributions as well as singular improvements made by Frederickson and others after Freese.

This book introduces Freese and his creations to math puzzle enthusiasts, by way of his engaging manuscript, his wild adventures, and his lovely dissections. Frederickson also includes remarkable designs that improve on Freese's work, and packs this book with nifty illustrations and tidbits that may well leave you speechless!

Readership: General public and math puzzle enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews Review "Everyone interested in geometric dissections, and this kind of puzzles, either mathematically or recreationally will embrace this publication. But also the readers interested in the history and certainly those who became curious about this mystery man and his manuscript, after reading Frederickson's 2006 book, will be fully satisfied with this respectful reproduction eventually made available for a general public." -- European Mathematical Society

"Ernest Irving Freese's Geometric Transformations does not just uncover a mathematical gem. It is also a piece of art and a mind-puzzling set of ingenious dissections done by a master of architectural drawings and amateur mathematician. It is a practical book that shows the beauty of dissection and how we can get from a polygon to another by cutting it to pieces and recollect them in some special way. The book is written in a very elegant style, and nicely presented. Freese s manuscript was photographed and wasn t altered in any way — this preserved its beauty. Freese's drawing shows ingenuity and it shows how meticulous he was. For those people who are interested in geometry or in geometric dissections and for those who admire puzzles and recreational mathematics this book is a must." -- MAA Reviews

"It is written in a light, conversational, humorous style, infused with enthusiastic asides such as those above. And indeed, each of Frederickson's books can be enjoyed on a non-technical, perhaps even a non-mathematical level, without a great deal of background and at all levels of sophistication. This fourth book, perhaps even more than the others, is easy to browse or read for sheer aesthetic pleasure. Not to mention, there is this interesting character, Mr. Freese, at the center of it, whom Frederickson very much wants us to meet. Thus, along with the 'magnificent' mathematical treasures, the reader will find a biography of a human being–'The man'–lovingly told by one author about another. For Frederickson, the telling of the story is an unabashedly personal undertaking and he makes great and welcome effort to make this obvious to the reader." -- Mathematical Reviews

"Ein grosses Meister der Geometrie hat das nachgelassene Werk eines anderen Meisters entdeckt und liebevoll aufgearbeitet ... Damit gewinnt der Leser über Freeses Werk hinaus einen hervorragenden Überblick über die Flächenzerlegung — und lernt interessante and unkonventionelle Anwendungen der euklidischen Geometrie kennen."

"A great master of geometry has discovered the posthumous work of another master and lovingly restored it. This gives the reader an excellent overview of the area decompositions beyond Freese's work — and gets to know interesting and unconventional applications of Euclidean geometry." -- Spektrum der Wissenschaft

"Everyone interested in geometric dissections, and this kind of puzzles, either mathematically or recreationally will embrace this publication. But also the readers interested in the history and certainly those who became curious about this mystery man and his manuscript, after reading Frederickson's 2006 book, will be fully satisfied with this respectful reproduction eventually made available for a general public." -- European Mathematical Society

"Ernest Irving Freese's Geometric Transformations does not just uncover a mathematical gem. It is also a piece of art and a mind-puzzling set of ingenious dissections done by a master of architectural drawings and amateur mathematician. It is a practical book that shows the beauty of dissection and how we can get from a polygon to another by cutting it to pieces and recollect them in some special way. The book is written in a very elegant style, and nicely presented. Freese's manuscript was photographed and wasn t altered in any way this preserved its beauty. Freese's drawing shows ingenuity and it shows how meticulous he was. For those people who are interested in geometry or in geometric dissections and for those who admire puzzles and recreational mathematics this book is a must." -- MAA Reviews

"It is written in a light, conversational, humorous style, infused with enthusiastic asides such as those above. And indeed, each of Frederickson's books can be enjoyed on a non-technical, perhaps even a non-mathematical level, without a great deal of background and at all levels of sophistication. This fourth book, perhaps even more than the others, is easy to browse or read for sheer aesthetic pleasure. Not to mention, there is this interesting character, Mr. Freese, at the center of it, whom Frederickson very much wants us to meet. Thus, along with the 'magnificent' mathematical treasures, the reader will find a biography of a human being 'The man' lovingly told by one author about another. For Frederickson, the telling of the story is an unabashedly personal undertaking and he makes great and welcome effort to make this obvious to the reader." -- Mathematical Reviews

"Ein grosses Meister der Geometrie hat das nachgelassene Werk eines anderen Meisters entdeckt und liebevoll aufgearbeitet ... Damit gewinnt der Leser über Freeses Werk hinaus einen hervorragenden Überblick über die Flächenzerlegung und lernt interessante and unkonventionelle Anwendungen der euklidischen Geometrie kennen."
"A great master of geometry has discovered the posthumous work of another master and lovingly restored it. This gives the reader an excellent overview of the area decompositions beyond Freese's work and gets to know interesting and unconventional applications of Euclidean geometry." -- Spektrum der Wissenschaft

From the Back Cover A geometric dissection is a cutting of a geometric figure (such as a regular polygon, or a star, or a cross) into pieces that we can rearrange to form another geometric figure. The best dissections are beautiful and possess economy (few pieces), symmetry, or hingeability. They are often challenging to discover. Ernest Irving Freese was an architect who lived and worked in Los Angeles until his death in 1957. Shortly before he passed away, he completed a 200-page manuscript on geometric dissection, the first book-length treatment on that subject. Freese included elegant drawings of dissections that were both original and clever. After his death the manuscript lay forgotten in his former house until Greg Frederickson set in motion its recovery in 2003. What a treat that it was rescued! Frederickson's book sketches a history of geometric dissections and a biography of Freese, followed by a refurbished copy of Freese's manuscript interleaved with a commentary that highlights Freese's major contributions as well as singular improvements made by Frederickson and others after Freese. This book introduces Freese and his creations to math puzzle enthusiasts, by way of his engaging manuscript, his wild adventures, and his lovely dissections. Frederickson also includes remarkable designs that improve on Freese's work, and packs this book with nifty illustrations and tidbits that may well leave you speechless!