The man who knew infinity : a life of the genius Ramanujan

In 1913, a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G H Hardy, begging the preeminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers. Realizing 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.This is an inspiring tale of a scholarly pursuit that reads like an adventurous thriller. In 1913 a young, unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G.H. Hardy, begging the preeminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers and setting in motion one of the most productive collaborations ever chronicled. "An exquisite portrait."--Los Angeles Times.

with A Passion For Detail, Robert Kanigel Takes Us From To The Slums Of Madras To The Courts Of Cambridge University Where Srinivasa Ramanujan, A Young Unschooled Indian Clerk, Tested His Brilliant Theories Alongside G.h. Hardy, The Great English Mathematician. Ramanujan Died At The Age Of Thirty-two, But He Left Behind A Magical And Inspired Legacy That Is Still Being Plumbed For Its Secrets Today.

publishers Weekly

this Moving And Astonishing Biography Tells The Improbable Story Of India-born Srinavasa Ramanujan Iyengar, Self-taught Mathematical Prodigy. In 1913 Ramanujan, A 25-year-old Clerk Who Had Flunked Out Of Two Colleges, Wrote A Letter Filled With Startlingly Original Theorems To Eminent English Mathematician G. H. Hardy. Struck By The Indian's Genius, Hardy, Member Of The Cambridge Apostles And An Obsessive Cricket Aficionado, Brought Ramanujan To England. Over The Next Five Years, The Vegetarian Brahmin Who Claimed His Discoveries Were Revealed To Him By A Hindu Goddess Turned Out Influential Mathematical Propositions. Cut Off From His Young Indian Wife Left At Home And Emotionally Neglected By Fatherly Yet Aloof Hardy, Ramanujan Returned To India In 1919, Depressed, Sullen And Quarrelsome; He Died One Year Later Of Tuberculosis. Kanigel ( Apprentice To Genius ) Gives Nontechnical Readers The Flavor Of How Ramanujan Arrived At His Mathematical Ideas, Which Are Used Today In Cosmology And Computer Science. Bomc Featured Alternate; Qpb Alternate. (may)

A biography of the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The book gives a detailed account of his upbringing in India, his mathematical achievements, and his mathematical collaboration with English mathematician G. H. Hardy. The book also reviews the life of Hardy and the academic culture of Cambridge University during the early twentieth century. A biography of one of the most innovative mathematicians of all time traces the rise of Srinivasa Ramanujan from his days as a clerk to his collaboration with one of England's greatest mathematicians A biography of the Ramanujan describes how the natural genius of an unschooled Indian clerk came to the attention of a preeminent mathematician and the world. Reprint.