Starred Review. What Aczel did for mathematician Fermat (Fermat's Last Theorem)he now does for Descartes in this splendid study about the French philosopher and mathematician (1596–1650) most famous for his paradigm-smashing declaration, “I think; therefore, I am.” Part historical sketch, part biography and part detective story, Aczel's chronicle of Descartes's hidden work hinges on his lost secret notebook. Of 16 pages of coded manuscript, one and a half were copied in 1676 by fellow philosopher and mathematician Leibniz. For him, Descartes's inscription of the cryptic letters“GFRC” immediately revealed his association with the occult fraternity of the Rosicrucians—Leibniz was also a member. The notebook also revealed to Leibniz a discovery made by Descartes that would have transformed mathematics.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Prologue: Leibniz's Search in Paris10

1：The Gardens of Touraine

2：Tesuit Mathematics and the Pleasures of the Capital

3：The Dutch Puzzle

4：Three Dream in an Oven by the Danube

5：The Athenians Are Vexed by a Persistent Ancient Plague

6：The Meeting with Faulhaber and the Battle of Prague

7：The Brotherhood

8：Swords at Sea and a Meeting in the Marais

9：Descartes and the Rosicrucians

10：Italian Creations

11：A Duel at Orleans,and the Siege of La Rochele

12：The Move to Holland and the Ghost of Galileo

13：A Secret Affair

14：Descartes'Philosophy and the Discourse on the Method

15：Descartes Understands the Ancient Delian Mystery

16：Princess Elizabeth

17：The Intrigues of Utrecht

18：The Call of the Queen

19: The Mysterious Death of Descartes

20：Leibniz's Quest for Descartes'Secret

21：Leibniz Breaks Descartes' Code and Solves the Mystery；A Twenty-First-Century Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Illustration Credits

Index