In 1931 Kurt Godel published his fundamental paper, "On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems". This revolutionary paper challenged certain basic assumptions underlying much research in mathematics and logic. Godel received public recognition of his work in 1951 when he was awarded the first Albert Einstein Award for achievement in the natural sciences - perhaps the highest award of its kind in the United States. The award committee described his work in mathematical logic as "one of the greatest contributions to the sciences in recent times". However, few mathematicians of the time were equipped to understand the young scholar's complex proof. Ernest Nagel and James Newman provide a readable and accessible explanation to both scholars and non-specialists of the main ideas and broad implications of Godel's discovery. It offers every educated person with a taste for logic and philosophy the chance to understand a previously difficult and inaccessible subject. Marking the 50th anniversary of the original publication of Godel's Proof, New York University Press is proud to publish this special anniversary edition of one of its bestselling and most frequently translated books. With a new introduction by Douglas R. Hofstadter, this book will appeal students, scholars, and professionals in the fields of mathematics, computer science, logic and philosophy, and science.

欧内斯特·内格尔（Ernest Nagel） (1901—1985）

内格尔出生于现在捷克共和国的首都布拉格（当时是奥匈帝国的一部分）,十岁时随家庭移居美国。1923年获纽约城市学院学士学位,1925年获哥伦比亚大学数学硕士学位,1930年获该校哲学博士学位。此后除了在洛克菲勒大学工作过一年之外,一直在哥伦比亚大学任教：1946年起任教授,1956年至1966年任杜威讲座哲学教授,1967年至1970年退休前成为校级教授。其间,1940年至1946年任《符号逻辑》杂志编委；1939年至1956年担任《哲学杂志》编委；1956年至1959年任《科学哲学》杂志编委。曾任美国哲学和科学方法研究会主席,美国符号逻辑协会主席,美国哲学协会东部分会主席。他于1961年出版的《科学的结构》（The Structure of Science）被公认为科学分析哲学的开山之作,是逻辑实证主义运动的领军人物之一。内格尔是美国科学院院士,英国科学院的通讯院士。

詹姆士·R· 纽曼（James R. Newman）（1907—1966）

律师、数学家和数学史家。二战前后及期间曾担任美国驻伦敦大使馆首席情报官,战时副国务卿特别助理,美国参议院原子能问题顾问等重要敏感职务。战后从1948年起,成为《科学美国人》杂志的编委会成员。他曾用十几年的时间编辑出版了四卷本的《数学世界》丛书,其中收集了从古到今的重要数学文献,具有极大参考价值,曾多次再版。