Kolmogorov in Perspective

This volume on Kolmogorov is the twentieth in the History of Mathematics series published jointly by the American Mathematical Society and the London Mathematical Society. It is a collection of essays, translated from the Russian, dealing with Kolmogorov and his mathematics. The essays originally appeared in two different books. The first was an obituary volume called "Kolmogorov in Remembrance," the second a collection of essays on the history of mathematics from which two essays by Kolmogorov have been taken. The result is an interesting package. The first article, by A. N. Shiryaev, is a comprehensive biography that focuses mostly on Kolmogorov's mathematics. There follow several essays of a more personal nature by students and colleagues. Finally, the two essays by Kolmogorov himself, one on P. S. Alexandrov and one on Newton's influence on modern mathematical thought, allow us to get to know him in a different way. The volume is rounded off by a detailed bibliography of Kolmogorov's work.