a m p l e s (e.g., l a c k o f u n i f o r m integrability, p. 414), o r to i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s of n o t a t i o n w h i c h r e v e a l s o m e difficulties, a s with c o n d i t i o n a l p r o b a b i l i t i e s (pp. 258-260). C o n d i t i o n a l p r o b a b i l i t i e s are i n d e e d the A r i a d n e t h r e a d o f t h e w h o l e b o o k , as I h i n t e d a b o v e w i t h t h e GaussCauchy example. Let us n o w go t h r o u g h t h e overall s t r u c t u r e o f t h e b o o k .

T h e first five c h a p t e r s , r o u g h l y 150 p a g e s , a r e dev o t e d to t h e f u n d a m e n t a l n o t i o n s o f probability, which are systematically p r e s e n t e d in c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h t h o s e of statistics. T h e r e f o l l o w t h r e e c h a p t e r s , r o u g h l y 200 p a g e s , on statistics: c o n f i d e n c e intervals, b a y e s i a n statistics, l i n e a r m o d e l s (this t o p i c t a k e s u p t h e w h o l e o f C h a p t e r 8, 100 p a g e s in itself). T h e n t h e a u t h o r r e t u r n s to p r o b a b i l i t y in C h a p t e r 9 o n c o n d i t i o n a l expectations, martingales, and Poisson p r o c e s s e s ; a n d C h a p t e r 10 is d e v o t e d to quantum probability. The b o o k e n d s w i t h f o u r a p p e n d i c e s , concerning a number of technical points (for example, t h e a x i o m o f choice!) w h i c h w e r e s k i p p e d o v e r in t h e main text; the s o l u t i o n s o f t h e p r i n c i p a l exercises ( A p p e n d i x B); a n d an invitation to a n d overview o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e (Appendix D). The b o o k c o n t a i n s a g r e a t numb e r o f exercises, u p d a t e s ( s o m e t i m e s w i t h Star-trek-type a d v e n t u r e s ) , discussion of s o m e c l a s s i c a l questions: the b u s p a r a d o x (p. 434), t h e p r o b l e m o f moments, for w h i c h B. S i m o n ' s 2000 article is exploited, a n d s o on. This b o o k is o f t e n r e m i n i s c e n t o f t h e classic V o l u m e 1 b y W. Feller; still, t h e d i s c u s s i o n is m u c h m o r e d i r e c t e d a t t h e r e a d e r , a s I h a v e said. It is rep l e t e with p e d a g o g i c a l t r i c k s , a n d cons t a n t l y is o n t h e l o o k o u t f o r t h e simp l e s t solution. Often t h e a u t h o r l e a d s t h e r e a d e r to a w r o n g p a t h , t h e n ret u r n s l a t e r to t h e g o o d r o a d ; in Chapt e r 10, t h e r e a d e r is i n i t i a t e d to quant u m p r o b a b i l i t y in a s e r i e s o f steps, l e a d i n g to a g o o d u n d e r s t a n d i n g . Many notes of humour are scattered through t h e text; I e n j o y e d , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e Sobs n o t a t i o n (p. 170) s u p p o s e d to b r i n g stat i s t i c i a n s to tears. In s u m m a r y , while p r o g r e s s i n g t h r o u g h t h e b o o k , t h e r e a d e r evolves from elementary questions of heads and tails t o w a r d a g l o b a l v i s i o n o f p r o b a b i l -

ity a n d statistics, with the a u t h o r vowing (see, e.g., t h e first lines of the Prefa c e ) to r e c o n c i l e these t w o domains, w h i c h have s e p a r a t e d , then divorced. It is a g o l d m i n e o f information in b o t h domains, giving a c c e s s to the m o s t adv a n c e d k n o w l e d g e and techniques. I r e c o m m e n d it a s a working tool for a specific c l a s s o f F r e n c h s t u d e n t s j u s t b e l o w the g r a d u a t e level: t h o s e w h o are p r e p a r i n g for t h e "agrdgation de Math-

o r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d in 1993 u n d e r the title Politics, Logic, and Love. It is to b e h o p e d t h a t t h e n e w title will a t t r a c t g r e a t e r a t t e n t i o n to this vivid p o r t r a i t o f t h e life o f a r e m a r k a b l e a n d c o m p l e x
mail.

Within t h e m a t h e m a t i c a l c o m m u nity v a n H e i j e n o o r t is b e s t k n o w n as a h i s t o r i a n o f m o d e r n logic, w h o s e F r o m

Frege to Gddel: A Source Book in Mathematical Logic, 1879-1931 ( H a r v a r d

U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967) r e m a i n s a n exemplar of what a source book should be. S o m e a r e a l s o familiar w i t h his edit i o n o f J a c q u e s H e r b r a n d ' s ~,crits Logiques ( P r e s s e s U n i v e r s i t a i r e s de F r a n c e , P a r i s , 1968), b u t r e l a t i v e l y f e w a r e a w a r e o f his later b o o k With

dmatiques: option probabilitds et statistiques" a n d w h o in the future will

t e a c h c a n d i d a t e s for the Ecole Polytechnique, E c o l e s Normales, etc. (There are p l e n t y o f p o t e n t i a l r e a d e r s througho u t t h e world, b u t this r e v i e w e r can be

The author leads the reader to a wrong path, then returns later to the good road.
m o s t p r e c i s e in describing a natural r e a d e r s h i p in F r a n c e . ) Bravo, David, for this n e w tour de force! M a n y r e a d e r s will b e looking forw a r d to y o u r n e x t volume, b u t this s h o u l d n o t d i s t r a c t you f r o m l'art d'etre grand-pD'e, e s p e c i a l l y in t h e b i c e n t e n nial y e a r o f V i c t o r Hugo.
Laboratoire de Probabilites et Modeles Aleatoires Universite Paris Vl 175, rue du Chevaleret 75013 Paris France e-mail: deaproba@proba,jussieu.fr

Trotsky i n Exile: F r o m Prinkipo to Coyoacdn ( H a r v a r d , 1978), in w h i c h he

r e c o u n t e d t h e s e v e n y e a r s f r o m 1932 to 1939 d u r i n g w h i c h he lived w i t h L e o n T r o t s k y a s his b o d y g u a r d , s e c r e t a r y , and translator. A f t e r t h o s e t u r b u l e n t y e a r s v a n Heij e n o o r t e n t e r e d u p o n a life o f s c h o l a r ship. He left T r o t s k y ' s circle n o t long b e f o r e t h e l a t t e r ' s a s s a s s i n a t i o n , obt a i n e d a d o c t o r a t e in m a t h e m a t i c s in 1949 f r o m N e w York University (for a d i s s e r t a t i o n in differential g e o m e t r y ) , a n d s t a y e d o n a s a p r o f e s s o r t h e r e until 1965, w h e n h e m o v e d to B r a n d e i s U n i v e r s i t y to t e a c h logic. In the 1950s he b e c a m e a n a r c h i v a l c o n s u l t a n t for t h e T r o t s k y p a p e r s at Harvard, a n d during t h e l a s t f o u r y e a r s of his life h e h e l d a h a l f - t i m e a p p o i n t m e n t at Stanford, w h e r e h e s e r v e d b o t h as an a r c h i v a l a s s i s t a n t to t h e H o o v e r I n s t i t u t i o n (whose Trotsky holdings complement t h o s e at H a r v a r d ) a n d as a c o - e d i t o r o f Kurt G 6 d e l ' s Collected Works. F e f e r m a n ' s b i o g r a p h y is b a s e d on extensive personal interviews she had w i t h v a n H e i j e n o o r t during his y e a r s at S t a n f o r d . It is a s e n s i t i v e a c c o u n t t h a t o p e n s w i t h his c h i l d h o o d m e m o r y o f his f a t h e r c o u g h i n g u p blood. The y e a r w a s 1914: t h e G e r m a n s h a d o c c u p i e d t h e s m a l l F r e n c h t o w n of Creil w h e r e young Jean had been born two years b e f o r e , a n d in t h e w a k e of t h e G e r m a n i n v a s i o n all m e d i c a l p e r s o n n e l h a d g o n e a w a y . Van H e i j e n o o r t ' s father, a D u t c h citizen, w a s n o t s u b j e c t to F r e n c h m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e a n d h a d rem a i n e d in Creil w i t h his wife a n d son,

From Trotsky to GGdel:The Life of Jean van Heijenoort

by A n i t a B u r d m a n Feferman
NATICK, MASS.: AK PETERS, 2001 PAPERBACK 416 pp, US $24.95 ISBN 1 56881-148-9

REVIEWED BY JOHN W. DAWSON, Jr.

his is a p a p e r b a c k r e i s s u e of the biography of Jean van Heijenoort

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THE MATHEMATICALINTELLIGENCER

where he worked as a decorative p a i n t e r o f m e t a l safes. But he develo p e d a g a s t r i c u l c e r t h a t b e g a n to hemorrhage, and with no one with medi c a l k n o w l e d g e to t u r n to, he b e c a m e a c a s u a l t y o f t h e war. That s e a r i n g event left van Heijenoort w i t h o u t a n y m a l e a n c e s t o r to serve as a role m o d e l a n d c a u s e d a series o f fltrt h e r calamities. Without a p r o v i d e r in t h e fantily, v a n Heijenoort's m o t h e r H61bne w a s f o r c e d to s e e k employment. H e r family h a d lived in Creil for generations, b u t b y m a r r y i n g a foreigner she h a d lost h e r F r e n c h citizenship and "was required to c a r r y p a p e r s designating h e r a s an alien" (p. 9). As a Dutch widow she w a s further ineligible for "almost every . . . j o b . . , e x c e p t private d o m e s t i c work" a n d h a d "to r e p o r t to the police once a w e e k , . . . [and] refrain from l e a v i n g . . . Creil [without] a special p e r m i t for each d e p a r t u r e " (p. 16). When she eventually found work as a h o t e l c h a m b e r m a i d , H61~ne h a d to s e n d h e r s o n t o live w i t h an aunt. The r e s u l t i n g s e p a r a t i o n w a s painful, a n d t h e only w a y s h e c o u l d e s c a p e f r o m h e r p r e d i c a m e n t w a s to m a r r y a F r e n c h man. W h e n s h e d i d so, h e r citizenship rights w e r e fully r e s t o r e d , b u t J e a n j e a l o u s l y r e s e n t e d t h e n e w roan in h e r life a n d n e v e r a c c e p t e d h i m a s a stepfather. AS F e f e r m a n n o t e s , s u c h p o s s e s s i v e a t t a c h m e n t s w e r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f all o f van H e i j e n o o r t ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p s with w o m e n . As w i t h his m o t h e r , he at first p u t all his l o v e r s on a p e d e s t a l ; b u t "when t h e h o n e y m o o n w a s o v e r a n d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p c a m e d o w n to earth, t h e r e w a s a l w a y s s e r i o u s t r o u b l e " (p. 21). He w a s "the q u i n t e s s e n t i a l r o m a n tic F r e n c h m a n , " w h o in his affairs with w o m e n " f o r g o t a b o u t logic a n d r e a s o n " a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y s u f f e r e d "pain, remorse, a n d e v e n t u a l l y . . . [a] violent end" (p. xiii). (He w a s m u r d e r e d in 1986 b y his l a s t w i f e - - h i s f o u r t h o r fifth, " d e p e n d i n g , " he said, "on h o w y o u count.") F o r v a n H e i j e n o o r t , " a l m o s t everything w a s a n all o r n o t h i n g affair" (p. xiii). As a y o u t h he t u r n e d a b r u p t l y a w a y f r o m a n e a r l y d e v o t i o n to religion and " r e a p p l i e d his z e a l o u s n e s s to his studies" (p. 30). He w a s a b r i l l i a n t student, first in Creil, t h e n at t h e coll~ge

in C l e r m o n t a n d finally at t h e lycde Saint-Louis in Paris. But he r e s e n t e d the regimentation of the French school system, and, d i s i l l u s i o n e d w i t h t h e w o r l d political situation, b e c a m e active in a s e c r e t M a r x i s t society. T h e r e his linguistic a b i l i t i e s i m p r e s s e d his c o m p a n i o n s a n d h e w a s r e c r u i t e d to j o i n T r o t s k y as a t r a n s l a t o r . A c c o r d ingly, with little h e s i t a t i o n , he f o r s o o k his s c h o l a s t i c achievements and prospects and became a revolutionary. Van H e i j e n o o r t f o l l o w e d T r o t s k y f r o m Prinkipo, a n i s l a n d in t h e S e a o f Marmora, through France, Norway, a n d finally to Coyoac~in in M e x i c o . But intrigues w i t h i n T r o t s k y ' s circle, in-

Recruited to join Trotsky as a translator, he forsook his scholastic prospects and became a revolutionary.
cluding a c l a n d e s t i n e affair b e t w e e n v a n H e i j e n o o r t a n d F r i d a Kahlo, t h e wife o f Diego Rivera, e v e n t u a l l y l e d to conflicts. Van H e i j e n o o r t left C o y o a c ~ in N o v e m b e r o f 1939, less t h a n a y e a r b e f o r e T r o t s k y ' s m u r d e r (an e v e n t v a n Heijenoort believed he could have t h w a r t e d , h a d he h e a r d t h e s p e e c h p a t t e r n s o f the S p a n i s h a s s a s s i n , w h o c l a i m e d to b e a Belgian). A t t h e m o m e n t he l e a r n e d o f t h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n , v a n H e i j e n o o r t felt t h a t " d a r k n e s s s e t in." He r e m a i n e d a c t i v e in t h e Trots k y i t e c a u s e for s e v e n m o r e y e a r s , b u t e v e n t u a l l y his g r o w i n g a w a r e n e s s o f the evils of Stalinism led him to b e c o m e disillusioned with Marxist-Leninist ideology. P a r t III o f F e f e r m a n ' s b i o g r a p h y is d e v o t e d to v a n H e i j e n o o r t ' s r e t u r n to the w o r l d o f s c h o l a r s h i p . A s a nonmathematician, she f o c u s e s m o r e o n his p e r s o n a l life a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a n o n his m a t h e m a t i c a l work. But an a p p e n -

dix at the e n d o f t h e v o l u m e , w r i t t e n b y h e r h u s b a n d , the d i s t i n g u i s h e d l o g i c i a n S o l o m o n F e f e r m a n , p r o v i d e s a n overview of van Heijenoort's contributions to m a t h e m a t i c s a n d p h i l o s o p h y . The l a s t t w o c h a p t e r s o f t h e b o o k c h r o n i c l e v a n H e i j e n o o r t ' s on-again, off-again r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h A n a M a r i a Zamora, the d a u g h t e r o f A d o l f o Zamora, w h o h a d b e e n a c o m r a d e o f v a n Heij e n o o r t ' s d u r i n g his d a y s w i t h T r o t s k y a n d h a d s e r v e d as T r o t s k y ' s a n d Rivera's lawyer. Van, a s h e w a s b y t h e n k n o w n a m o n g his m a t h e m a t i c a l c o l l e a g u e s , became reacquainted with Ana Maria ( w h o m he h a d first k n o w n a s a c h i l d ) in 1958, w h i l e a s s i s t i n g t h e H a r v a r d lib r a r y in its n e g o t i a t i o n s to a c q u i r e T r o t s k y ' s p a p e r s . T h e t w o q u i c k l y fell in love, a n d a t e m p e s t u o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p ensued. They were married, divorced, and eventually remarried, but could n o t live h a p p i l y e i t h e r t o g e t h e r o r apart. E v e n t u a l l y A n a M a r i a b e g a n to s h o w signs o f s e r i o u s m e n t a l d i s t u r b a n c e , c u l m i n a t i n g in s u i c i d a l a n d homicidal depression. Believing he could somehow control her impulses, van Heijenoort returned to be with her in h e r h o m e in M e x i c o City; a n d t h e r e , w h i l e he slept, s h e s h o t first h i m a n d t h e n herself. A t t h e t i m e o f his d e a t h , I w a s w o r k ing w i t h Van on t h e G 6 d e l P r o j e c t . He w a s a vital c o n t r i b u t o r to t h a t effort, a friendly collaborator, and a meticulous s c h o l a r . But as F e f e r m a n s t r e s s e s throughout her book, he was also a v e r y p r i v a t e p e r s o n w h o s e life w a s carefully compartmentalized. I knew n o t h i n g o f his p r i v a t e life a n d w a s s t u n n e d b y his m u r d e r . O n l y p o s t h u m o u s l y , t h r o u g h this b o o k , d i d I bec o m e a w a r e o f h o w c o m p l e x his p e r s o n a l i t y r e a l l y was. Van H e i j e n o o r t is b u r i e d in t h e Z a m o r a family c r y p t in M e x i c o City, b u t t h e r e is n o o u t w a r d i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e fact. S h o u l d a n e p i t a p h e v e r b e ins c r i b e d for him, it o u g h t t o b e o n e o f P a s c a l ' s Pensdes t h a t h e p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p r e c i a t e d : "The h e a r t h a s its r e a s o n s reason knows nothing about."
Department of Mathematics PennsylvaniaState University York, PA 17403-3398 USA e-mail: jwd7@psu.edu

VOLUME 25, NUMBER 2, 2003

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