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Hermann Guenther Grassmann was one of the 19th century's most remarkable scientists, but many aspects of his life have remained in the dark. This book assembles essential, first-hand information on the Grassmann family. It sheds light on the family's struggle for scientific knowledge, progress and education. It puts a face on the protagonists of an exciting development in the history of science. And it highlights the peculiar set of influences which led Hermann Grassmann to brilliant insights in mathematics, philology and physics. This book of sources is meant to complement the biography of Grassmann and the proceedings of the 2009 Grassmann Bicentennial Conference (Birkhaeuser 2010). "Roots and Traces" will interest all scholars working on Hermann Grassmann and related topics. It offers newly discovered pictures of family members, historical texts documenting life in this exceptional family and an English translation of these previously unpublished papers. Text in German and English.