Review
Paul Erdös, largely unknown when he died in 1996, has become a cult figure with a wide following. Two highly recommended biographies capture the essence of this peripatetic eccentric who wrote more than 1500 papers and books in collaboration with the world’s mathematicians. “The Man Who Knew Only Numbers, The Story of Paul Erdös and the Search for Mathematical Truth” by Paul Hoffman was published in 1999. “My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdös", by Bruce Schechter was published in 2000. Both cover much the same ground, filling their chapters with captivating anecdotes, descriptions of the easily understood but difficult to solve mathematical questions that preoccupied Erdös’ thinking, and vignettes of the brilliant young people who Erdös fostered throughout his long, peripatetic career.

A measure of the growing interest is that Barnes & Noble now lists more than a dozen books by and about Erdös, all published since his death. Erdös was so unconventionally fascinating – never married, never interested in money or a permanent job, never stayed in one place but wandered the world stopping only to work mathematical magic with hundreds of willing collaborators who sustained their devotion throughout his life. Erdös was interested in many branches of mathematics that require the background of the specialist, but his lifelong passion was finding universal relationships between numbers, especially prime numbers. That mathematics is accessible with modest effort that has its reward in moments of revelation and insight.

It all makes for enjoyable reading that opens your mind to the world of pure reasoning. Either book would be well received by a bright high school student interested in mathematics.

~ Lee Grodzins, Ph.D., Physicist, Professor Emeritus, MIT