Book Description

The book is a bilingual (French and English) edition of the mathematical correspondence between A. Grothendieck and J-P. Serre. The original French text of 84 letters is supplemented here by the English translation, with French text printed on the left-hand pages and the corresponding English text printed on the right-hand pages. The book also includes several facsimiles of original letters. The letters presented in the book were mainly written between 1955 and 1965. During this period, algebraic geometry went through a remarkable transformation, and Grothendieck and Serre were among central figures in this process. The reader can follow the creation of some of the most important notions of modern mathematics, like sheaf cohomology, schemes, Riemann-Roch type theorems, algebraic fundamental group, motives. The letters also reflect the mathematical and political atmosphere of this period (Bourbaki, Paris, Harvard, Princeton, war in Algeria, etc.). Also included are a few letters written between 1984 and 1987. The letters are supplemented by J-P. Serre's notes, which give explanations, corrections, and references further results. The book should be useful to specialists in algebraic geometry, in history of mathematics, and to all mathematicians who want to understand how great mathematics is created.