Interested in purchasing Russian textbooks in mathematics

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the interest in purchasing Russian mathematics textbooks, particularly original editions from publishers like MIR. Participants share their experiences with Russian texts, suggest resources for purchasing, and reminisce about the past availability and pricing of such books.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses admiration for the exposition and problem sets in Russian mathematics textbooks and seeks information on where to purchase original editions.
  • Another participant mentions the publisher MIR as a source for many Russian texts and suggests checking abebooks.
  • There is a clarification regarding the publisher's name, with some confusion between "MRI" and "MIR."
  • A suggestion is made to explore Russian online booksellers like ozon.ru, which ships internationally.
  • Participants share personal anecdotes about their experiences with Russian mathematics and physics books, including fond memories of Yakov Perelman's works.
  • One participant discusses the difficulty in finding certain MIR books and notes the significant increase in their prices compared to the past.
  • Another participant mentions the availability of some books on archive.org, providing a resource for accessing Perelman's works.
  • There is a discussion about the condition of books available for purchase, with some participants expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of certain editions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the value of Russian mathematics textbooks and share resources for purchasing them. However, there is no consensus on the best sources or the condition of available books, indicating multiple competing views on the matter.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying degrees of nostalgia regarding the past pricing and availability of Russian textbooks, highlighting a significant change over time. Some mention specific titles and their experiences with acquiring them, but there are unresolved questions about copyright and the current market for these books.

bacte2013
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Dear Physics Forum friends,

I recently got interested in the Russian textbooks in mathematics, which I am completely blown away by their exposition, insights, and excellent problem sets. I have been reading translated versions of Russian books written by authors like Kolmogorov, Arnold, and Shilov, but I know that the untranslated, original versions are the best one to taste the authors' exposition. I have been actively searching for websites and bookstores to purchase the Russian editions, but I could not find ones...If you have any information on a website or place for me to purchase the Russian editions, please inform me!
 
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I know that MRI was the name of the publisher for a lot of Russian texts. Have you tried abebooks?
 
MidgetDwarf said:
MRI
... "MIR?"
 
correct
 
MidgetDwarf said:
I know that MRI was the name of the publisher for a lot of Russian texts. Have you tried abebooks?

Yes, I actually read several MIR books on mathematics (in translated version). I am actually searching for original Russian editions.
 
sorry, i thought the MIR published both the Russian and English version.
 
Why not try Russian online booksellers like ozon.ru? I know it ships books (but not other items) internationally.
 
@bacte2013: Just out of curiosity, do you have a Russian family background or did you learn the language by yourself? Pardon my imprudent question.
 
Krylov said:
@bacte2013: Just out of curiosity, do you have a Russian family background or did you learn the language by yourself? Pardon my imprudent question.

I do not have a Russian family background. I am actually taking the Russian language course.
 
  • #10
I had fond memory of Yakov Perelman's Fun with Physics series. It's actually how I became interested in physics in middle school.
it's not textbook per say, but it's the best to bring physics/math alive when it ignites curiosity in young kids.
 
  • #11
It's not exactly a rigorous technical textbook. But, the book Mathematical Circles is very good. It's about problem solving and has many wonderful problems, starting with simple questions. I enjoyed (and still enjoy) it a lot.
 
  • #12
There is a series of books called Kvant Selecta - They're pretty good too.
 
  • #13
bacte2013: Kolmogorov, Arnold, and Shilov are only a few of wast collection from MIR publisher. I have many of them in my private library. I'm still searching for some that I miss, but they are hard to get nowadays. It's been 30-40 years.. Also, series are not complete, and some MIR books are only in "acceptable condition", which is not acceptable for my standard :smile: My standard goes from "very good" on... Well, to be honest, there are some new (as advertised) for around 100 bucks :)) Too expensive for me ... Can you imagine, that we were able to buy such books for 2 - 3 bucks in '80s in our former country Yugoslavia... Now they are worth a fortune :wideeyed: Anyways, I got lucky and got some MIR books from amazon and abebooks in great condition for reasonable price...:cool: Yet, others were purchased from Italy, for instance: Mathematical analysis for engineers I & II from Krasnov, Kiselev, Makarenko, Shiking and also Higher mathematics in problems and exercises from Danko, Popov, Kozhevnikova. Some exotic ones were purchased in Spain...for instance: A course of Mathematical analysis from S.M. Nikolsky. And some (electrical science), were bought even in Serbia. I suggest that you take a look at this site: https://mirtitles.org/ and choose which ones would suite you, try to download them and maybe print for your personal use. Check if MIR still holds a copyright. Have fun !
 
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  • #14
arabianights said:
I had fond memory of Yakov Perelman's Fun with Physics series. It's actually how I became interested in physics in middle school.
it's not textbook per say, but it's the best to bring physics/math alive when it ignites curiosity in young kids.
Some of Perelman's books can be found here:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=yakov perelman
 
  • #15
discoversci said:
Can you imagine, that we were able to buy such books for 2 - 3 bucks in '80s in our former country Yugoslavia.
Yes, I remember that (in Zagreb) a Russian math or physics book was cheaper than a toilet paper.
 

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