A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John
Nashby Sylvia Nasar (Simon & Schuster, 2001; ISBN: 0743224574)—The fascinating
biography of John Nash, the mathematical genius who descended into schizophrenia
for decades, losing his sanity, career, and wife. He ultimately recovered from this ill-
ness, and was subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize for his early work. There was also
a movie adaptation of this book (see below).
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for
Mathematical Truthby Paul Hoffman (Hyperion, 1999; ISBN: 0786884061)—The
story of a mathematician who had no home, no wife, and no life other than numbers.
Living out of two suitcases for more than 60 years, Erdos passionately chased mathe-
matical problems over four continents, thinking and working for 19 hours per day,
while interacting with the leading scientists of his day.
Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödelby Rebecca Goldstein (W.
W. Norton & Company, 2005; ISBN: 0393051692)—This book explores the remarkable
theorem of incompleteness and the eccentric genius behind its discovery, Kurt Gödel.
What are some nonfiction booksabout specific numbers?
Although most people wouldn’t think that a book about a number would be interest-
ing, the following shows that’s not always true:
The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World’s Most Astonishing Numberby Mario
Livio (Broadway Books, 2003; ISBN: 0767908163)—A history of the number phi
(1.6180339887), also known as the golden ratio or divine proportion. Livio discusses exam-
ples from nature, as well as phi’s use in architecture and art throughout human history.
Pi: A Biography of the World’s Most Mysterious Numberby Alfred S. Posamentier
and Ingmar Lehmann (Prometheus Books, 2004; ISBN: 1591022002)—The story of
the number pi throughout history, from the Old Testament to modern politics. An epi-
logue has pi expressed to 100,000 decimal places.
e: The Story of a Numberby Eli Maor (Princeton University Press, 1998; ISBN:
0691058547)—The tale of the development of “e” from both a mathematical and
human perspective.
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Ideaby Charles Seife and Matt Zimet (Pen-
guin Books, 2000; ISBN: 0140296476)—An entertaining story about (literally) noth-
ing. The development and use of nothing, or zero, is covered in detail from ancient
times to the present.
What are some nonfiction booksabout mathematical problems?
Tales of epic quests to solve some of the most difficult mathematical problems ever
considered are served up in the following books: 453