William Tutte, one of the founders of modern graph theory, provides a unique and personal introduction to the field. Instead of a typical survey, the author looks back at the areas which interested him most, discussing why he pursued certain problems and how he and his colleagues solved them.
The book's extensive references make it a useful starting point for research as well as an important document for anyone interested in the history of graph theory. The author begins with the problems he worked on as an undergraduate at Cambridge and goes on to cover subjects such as combinatorial problems in chess, algebra in graph theory, reconstruction of graphs, symmetry in graphs, and the chromatic eigenvalues. In each case he mixes fascinating historical and biographical information with engaging descriptions of important results.