Take the 2-minute tour ×  Does anyone know of a monograph/survey
on the modern history of (basic or elliptic) hypergeometric
functions and their applications?  I haven't had much time to
search the literature, and because it is summer it is hard to
reach professors or specialists, which is why I am asking the
question here. It is also likely that there are obvious choices
out there that I am unaware of because of my ignorance in the
field. I would appreciate it a lot if along with the suggestions
you could give a quick description of what the book/article
treats.  share|improve this question add comment  3 Answers  up
vote 7 down vote accepted  Gjergji, there are remarkable
articles by Richard Askey:  (1) "Ramanujan and hypergeometric
and basic hypergeometric series" in Russian Math. Surveys 45:1
(1990) 37--86; reprinted in Ramanujan: essays and surveys, Hist.
Math. 22 Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 2001, pp. 277--324;
(2) "A look at the Bateman project" in The mathematical legacy
of Wilhelm Magnus: group