"The reader will find a wealth of interesting material in this book. Exploring the ways in which the investigation of initially disparate special cases in physics and mathematics eventually led to the development of unified, rigorous, general, and profound theories of formal probability and its application to the worlds of physics and the theory of action is a fascinating intellectual journey." Lawrence Sklar, The Journal of Philosophy
"Von Plato's narrative...nicely interweaves the philosophical, historical, and mathematical aspects of the subject. In doing so von Plato has consulted and drawn on a substantial body of archival material: letters, unpublished manuscripts, and drafts of later-published papers. Thus his book does not just simply revisit the standard chestnuts of the field, but substantially adds to our knowledge of them....In sum, this is a welcome addition to the literature: timely, informed, and technically competent." S.L. Zabell, Isis
"Von Plato's narrative...nicely interweaves the philosophical, historical, and mathematical aspects of the subject. In doing so von Plato has consulted and drawn on a substantial body of archival material: letters, unpublished manuscripts, and drafts of later-published papers. Thus his book does not just simply revisit the standard chestnuts of the field, but substantially adds to our knowledge of them....In sum, this is a welcome addition to the literature: timely, informed, and technically competent." S.L. Zabell, Isis
"Jan von Plato's Creating Modern Probability is a book to celebrate. It will be a source of pleasure for probabilists and a stimulus for historians. Combing a sweeping vision with a sympathetic and thorough marshaling of sources, it brings to life the emergence of measure-theoretic probability in the first third of the twentieth century....Von Plato's mathematical precision will satisfy specialits, while his success in organizing his sources with respect to larger questions will provoke and enable a new cycle of historical research and debate.... With grace and finesse, von Plato has conquered the buffer period of 1900-1933 for history. With grace, because his understanding of the mathematics of the period cannot be faulted. With finesse, because he has honored fully the claims of contemporary probabilists." Glen Shafer, The Annals of Probability
"Jan von Plato's Creating Modern Probability is a book to celebrate. It will be a source of pleasure for probabilists and a stimulus for historians. Combing a sweeping vision with a sympathetic and thorough marshaling of sources, it brings to life the emrgence of measure-theoretic probability in the first third of the twentieth century....Von Plato's mathematical precision will satisfy specialits, while his success in organizing his sources with respect to larger questions will provoke and enable a new cycle of historical research and debate.... With grace and finesse, von Plato has conquered the buffer period of 1900-1933 for history. With grace, becuase his understanding of the mathematics of the period cannot be faulted. With finesse, because he has honored fully the claims of contemporary probabilists." Glen Shafer, The Annals of Probability
