The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
Brown Book Group Little
The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of a friendship between Srinivasa Ramanujan and G.H. Hardy that forever changed mathematics.
In 1913, a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G H Hardy, begging the pre-eminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. Realising the letter was the work of a genius, Hardy arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England. Thus began one of the most improbable and productive collaborations ever chronicled.
With a passion for rich and evocative detail, Robert Kanigel takes us from the temples and slums of Madras to the courts and chapels of Cambridge University, where the devout Hindu Ramanujan, 'the Prince of Intuition,' tested his brilliant theories alongside the sophisticated and eccentric Hardy, 'the Apostle of Proof'. In time, Ramanujan's creative intensity took its toll: he died at the age of thirty-two and left behind a magical and inspired legacy that is still being plumbed for its secrets today.
Adapted into a film in 2016 starring Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons, Stephen Fry, Toby Jones and Devika Bhise.
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About Brown Book Group Little
Reviews for The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
New York Times
An exquisite portrait...the rarest of literary achievements...Ramanujan's tale is the stuff of fable
Los Angeles Times
An exciting and thoughtful book... should catch the imagination of any reader - even the reader with little mathematical background
Independent
This is a fine example of a work of popularising mathematics, and deserves a wide readership.
New Scientist
An exquisite portrait...the rarest of literary achievements...Ramanujan's tale is the stuff of fable
LOS ANGELES TIMES
an exciting and thoughtful book... should catch the imagination of any reader- even the reader with little mathematical background.
INDEPENDENT
This is a fine example of a work of popularising mathematics, and deserves a wide readership.
NEW SCIENTIST
Enthralling... one of the best scientific biographies I've ever seen.
John Gribbin