THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY

About this book

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. Review It is a magic, tragic ugly-duckling fable that Robert Kanigel tells in The Man Who Knew Infinity... In it, a greatly gifted man is born to a culture that doesn't understand what the man is about. Still, his talent blossoms until news of it spreads to the other side of the world, where he is eventually summoned by the masters of his skill. The man goes among them and performs his magic. Skepticism gives way to wonder. But away from home, the man grows lonely and ill. He returns to his birthplace, only to die. ― 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 Enthralling... one of the best scientific biographies I've ever seen. ― John Gribbin Book Description * 'One of the finest, best-documented biographies ever published about a modern mathematician' - Martin Gardner About the Author Robert Kanigel is the author of six other books, including The Man Who Knew Infinity. After 13 years as professor of science writing at MIT, he has returned to full-time writing in Baltimore.