"A rich and engaging tale"
J.McCleary, Choice Magazine

"The story of the mathematician R.L. Moore and his students is worth presenting to a wide audience not only because of their scientific contributions but especially because their creativeness in mathematics went hand in glove with their inspiration of creativeness in the classroom. The author has drawn on a large array of published and unpublished sources and does not overlook the criticisms and controversies that have been associated with Moore and the Moore Method. This personal history thus becomes a study in the art of teaching and in the discovery and nurture of talent."
Dr. Albert C. Lewis, C. S. Peirce Edition Project

"I first studied under Moore in 1941. I found him to be an inspirational kind of teacher, and a man totally dedicated to his students, more so than any other teacher I’ve known." Richard D. Anderson, Boyd Professor Emeritus, Louisiana State University, Past President MAA & Past Vice-President, AMS.

R. L. Moore: Mathematician & Teacher presents a full and frank biography of a mathematician recognized as one of the principal figures in the 20th Century progression of the American school of point set topology. He was equally well known as creator of The Moore Method (no textbooks, no lectures, no conferring) in which there is a current and growing revival of interest and modified application under inquiry-based learning projects in both the United States and UK.

Parker draws on Oral History, with first-person recollections from many leading figures in the American mathematics community of the last half-century. The story embraces some of the most famous and influential mathematical names in America and Europe from the late 1900s in what is undoubtedly a lively account of this controversial figure, once described as Mr. Chips with Attitude, who was third in the American Men of Science lists at a time when Einstein was sixth.

He was the first American to become a Visiting Lecturer for the American Mathematical Society, held numerous editorial appointments for the Society, was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, published 68 papers and a book which is still referred to seventy years later and which has been the subject of literally hundreds of papers by other mathematicians around the globe.

A professional genealogy forms a fascinating sub-text to the book. It describes three of Moore’s students who followed him as president of the American Mathematical Society, three others who became vice-presidents, and another who served as secretary of the AMS for many years. Five served as president of the Mathematical Association of America, and three — like Moore himself — became members of the National Academy of Sciences while most of the rest became highly respected and well published mathematicians and teachers in top flight American universities. Given that the presidencies run for two years, his former students were at the helm of one or other of the two major mathematical organizations in the US for a third of the second half of the 20th Century.

The following review appeared in the June 2005 issue of Choice, the principal review journal of librarians, colleges and universities throughout the United States of America:

"Moore(1882-1974) belonged to the generation of American mathematicians who cut their teeth when the U.S. was ascending as a power in scientific research. His research and his guidance of PhD students helped found an American school of topology. He is best known as a teacher for the method he applied, now known as the "Moore method."

In Moore's classes, students were forbidden books and papers while being minimally guided by Moore to discover on their own the key results in a field. As Parker relates, through stories told by Moore's students, the method was successful for some in opening new ways knowing and extending mathematics; for others, the method was too intense.

Parker presents Moore's life in detail, including origins of the Moore method, placing Moore very much in the developing mathematics scene. A rich and engaging tale, told with warts and all, the book is foremost an American life and Parker is at his best in these details. There is more here than Moore and his method of teaching - (a big Texan) slice of academic life in 20th century history." - J.McCleary, Vassar College

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