The work was first published in 1945 in Russia[4][3] and soon became a "standard" and frequently used guide for scientists, engineers, and technical university students.

Over the decades, high popularity and a string of translations, extensions, re-translations and major revisions by various editors led to a complex international publishing history centered around the significantly expanded German version.

Legal hurdles following the fall of the Iron Curtain caused the development to split into several independent branches maintained by different publishers and editors to the effect that there are now two considerably different publications associated with the original title – and both of them are available in several languages.

Bronshtein and Semendyayev is a comprehensive handbook of fundamental working knowledge of mathematics and table of formulas based on the Russian book Справочник по математике для инженеров и учащихся втузов (Spravochnik po matematike dlya inzhenerov i uchashchikhsya vtuzov, literally: "Handbook of mathematics for engineers and students of technical universities") compiled by the Russian mathematician Ilya Nikolaevich Bronshtein (Илья Николаевич Бронштейн)[nb 1] and engineer Konstantin Adolfovic Semendyayev (Константин Адольфович Семендяев).

[4][nb 2] The scope is the concise discussion of all major fields of applied mathematics by definitions, tables and examples with a focus on practicability and with limited formal rigour.

With Dmitrii Abramovich Raikov, Bronshtein authored a Russian handbook on elementary mathematics, mechanics and physics (Справочник по елементарнои математике, механике и физике), which was published in 1943.

[4] Among other sources this work was influenced by the 1936 Russian translation of the 1931 edition of the much older German Hütte - Des Ingenieurs Taschenbuch.

[4] After the war, they were considered lost, but could be found again years later, so that the first edition of Справочник по математике для инженеров и учащихся втузов could finally be published in 1945.

[4][3] The expanded German translation Taschenbuch der Mathematik (literally: "Pocketbook of mathematics") by Viktor Ziegler[4][3][nb 3] was first published in 1958 by B. G. Teubner in Leipzig.

[4] The original authors felt too old to continue the work and the Russian publisher Nauka (Наука) seemed to have had lost interest in the further development as well for some while.

The English version was published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company and Verlag Harri Deutsch as Handbook of Mathematics.

Licensing issues caused the development to split into two independent branches by the two publishing houses: Consequently, Verlag Harri Deutsch contracted Gerhard Musiol [de][nb 7] and Heiner Mühlig[nb 8] to start afresh and translate[3] the last non-Teubner influenced version (officially the latest revision (1977)[20] of the third Russian edition (1953),[20] which is actually the eleventh Russian edition (1967)) into German for a major rework of Taschenbuch der Mathematik as a single-volume title.

[3] This is now accompanied by a completely reworked and considerably expanded four-volume series named Springer-Handbuch der Mathematik (literally: "Springer handbook of mathematics") by Zeidler also based on the former Bronshtein and Semendyayev.

[1][5] Authors: Bronshtein, Ilya Nikolaevich (Бронштейн, Илья Николаевич); Semendyayev, Konstantin Adolfovic (Семендяев, Константин Адольфович).

[nb 4] Authors: Beckmann, Peter [de]; Belger, Martin; Benker, Hans; Denkmann, Norbert; Deweß, Monika; Erfurth, Horst; Gentemann, Helmut; Göthner, Peter; Gottwald, Siegfried; Grosche, Günter; Hilbig, Harald; Hofmann, Reinhard; Kästner, Herbert [de]; Purkert, Walter; vom Scheidt, Jürgen [de]; Semendjajew, Konstantin Adolfowitsch; Vettermann, Theodor; Wünsch, Volkmar; Zeidler, Eberhard.

Authors (part II): Claus, Volker [de]; Deweß, Günter; Deweß, Monika; Diekert, Volker; Fuchssteiner, Benno; Gottwald, Siegfried; Gündel, Susanne; Hoschek, Josef; Olderog, Ernst-Rüdiger; Richter, Michael M.; Schenke, Michael; Widmayer, Peter; Zeidler, Eberhard.

Editors: Bronstein (布龙施泰因), Semendyayev (谢缅佳耶夫), Musiol (穆西奥尔), Mühlig (米利希) Translators: Li Wenlin (李文林) et al.