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Book Review, © Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
These two books are about Paul Erdos (Erdös, apparently pronounced AIR-dish), one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, and something of an oddball. The story is fascinating, and both books are very good. The shorter book, My Brain Is Open - by Bruce Schechter, gives a more complete picture of Erdos' personality, life, and work. The other book, The Man Who Loved Only Numbers - by Paul Hoffman, deals more with mathematics and mathematicians, often coming around to Erdos as an apparent afterthought. The mathematics, in both books, is simple and superficial. But, surprisingly, both books give a good flavor of what real mathematical work is like. And both books show that Edos did not love only numbers.
I recommend both books.
To order My Brain Is Open, click Amazon.com (goes directly to this book). To order The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, click Amazon.com.