Elementary Euclidean Geometry: An Undergraduate Introduction

The content of this book is not what I expected from the title. My thoughts were that it would be a book of traditional geometry, based on the Euclidean set of axioms. Instead, the book covers the geometry of lines and conics in the Euclidean plane. It begins with the representation of points and lines as vectors and how length and distance are computed in the Euclidean plane. From this, the equations of the three standard categories of conics, as well as all of the associated figures such as the asymptotes are examined. Understanding the material requires knowledge of the basics of linear algebra, in particular how to work with matrices and determinants. The presentation is well done, based on a large number of worked examples and many figures. If your interest is in learning the formulaic representations of conics in 2-space, then this book is right for you. However, I do consider the title misleading, the book is not about geometry as we usually consider it in the Euclidean sense. It deals with an application of geometry as applied to a specific class of figures and equations. Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.