Beware the code words "quantitative reasoning" often bandied about by the secret enemies of geometry who would suppress that subject like some sort of pagan religion or foolish luxury. In fact, most high schools, for various reasons, bypass rigorous geometry for weak calculus; as a result, many college students now hit a brick wall trying to follow any precise logical argument, or worse, construct one. Plato warned us! In the book by Kiselev, translator Givental, himself a very distinguished mathematician, aims to rescue geometry for our time by bringing into English a classic of Russian pedagogy, a book with a track record extending back more than a century. Indeed, under the Soviets, an era of prodigious mathematical achievement, Kiselev's book actually attained the status of stable, meaning it was the entire nation's official book for classroom use, and it held that status for decades, remaining popular still. SUMIZDAT (the name evidently a portmanteau of sum and samizdat) calls itself a publisher promoting nonsense-free mathematics and science curricula. Givental's excellent and concise Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (2001), albeit published by the AMS, also nicely fits this category. Certainly library shelves must make a place for Kiselev's classic! By D. V. Feldman, University of New Hampshire. From November'07 issue of --Choice (book review magazine for academic libraries)

I highly recommend (...) Kiselev's Planimetry. I can claim that no geometry textbook in history of Western civilization was printed in more copies than Kiselev. By Alexandre Borovik, the author of ''Mathematics under the microscope" --Homeschoolmath blog.

The book under review is an expanded translation of a unique phenomenon in the Russian mathematical literature. First published in 1892 by A. P. Kiselev as Elementary Geometry, by 1940 it underwent more than 40 revisions and eventually became a measuring rod for geometry education in Russia against which all other textbooks had to be judged. If nothing else, this book's staying power may serve as an enticement to anyone interested in, or involved with, high school geometry. Its introduction to the English speaking student and teacher is thus more than welcome. The effort by A. Givental, who translated the book from Russian and combined pieces of the many editions of the original, deserves wholehearted recognition and sincere praise. (...) The book was originally written in a clear, no-nonsense style which has been polished over its many editions and revisions. The style was well preserved in the translation. There is nothing in the book that will even occasionally distract from the subject. (...) In the Translator's Foreword, Professor Givental mentions three virtues of a good textbook (precision, simplicity, conciseness) formulated yet by Kiselev himself, and adds a fourth one competence in the subject. Thinking specifically of Kiselev's Geometry, one other feature must be mentioned: autonomy of the discourse. Every textbook is created for a particular audience which is usually characterized by the level of preparedness to absorb the material, both in terms of the requisite knowledge and the ability to do so. The requirements are usually set up in the introduction and are commonly violated in the text. This is either done tacitly or with a reference to the imposed limitations on the size or the scope of the book. One salient virtue of Kiselev's Geometry is that, throughout, the author remains faithful to his intended audience, viz., middle and junior high school students taking up geometry for the first time. (...) The full review is found here --Mathematical Association of America Online Book Reviews. --Mathematical Association of America Online Book Reviews

--Mathematical Association of America Online Book Reviews

The book under review is an expanded translation of a unique phenomenon in the Russian mathematical literature. First published in 1892 by A. P. Kiselev as Elementary Geometry, by 1940 it underwent more than 40 revisions and eventually became a measuring rod for geometry education in Russia against which all other textbooks had to be judged. If nothing else, this book's staying power may serve as an enticement to anyone interested in, or involved with, high school geometry. Its introduction to the English speaking student and teacher is thus more than welcome. The effort by A. Givental, who translated the book from Russian and combined pieces of the many editions of the original, deserves wholehearted recognition and sincere praise. (...) The book was originally written in a clear, no-nonsense style which has been polished over its many editions and revisions. The style was well preserved in the translation. There is nothing in the book that will even occasionally distract from the subject. (...) In the Translator's Foreword, Professor Givental mentions three virtues of a good textbook (precision, simplicity, conciseness) formulated yet by Kiselev himself, and adds a fourth one competence in the subject. Thinking specifically of Kiselev's Geometry, one other feature must be mentioned: autonomy of the discourse. Every textbook is created for a particular audience which is usually characterized by the level of preparedness to absorb the material, both in terms of the requisite knowledge and the ability to do so. The requirements are usually set up in the introduction and are commonly violated in the text. This is either done tacitly or with a reference to the imposed limitations on the size or the scope of the book. One salient virtue of Kiselev's Geometry is that, throughout, the author remains faithful to his intended audience, viz., middle and junior high school students taking up geometry for the first time. (...) The full review is found here --Mathematical Association of America Online Book Reviews

I highly recommend (...) Kiselev's Planimetry. I can claim that no geometry textbook in history of Western civilization was printed in more copies than Kiselev. By Alexandre Borovik, the author of ''Mathematics under the microscope" --Homeschoolmath blog