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Review
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 )
Enthralling... one of the best scientific biographies I've ever seen. (John Gribbin )
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 )
Enthralling... one of the best scientific biographies I've ever seen. (John Gribbin )
INDEPENDENT
* "Fascinating, exciting and thoughtful"
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First Sentence
He heard it all his life-the slow, measured thwap . . . thwap . . . thwap . . . of wet clothes being pounded clean on rocks jutting up from the waters of the Cauvery River. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
He heard it all his life-the slow, measured thwap . . . thwap . . . thwap . . . of wet clothes being pounded clean on rocks jutting up from the waters of the Cauvery River. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ramanujan perhaps suffers a little from being such an extraordinary character - I'm surprised at how little-known his story is, and most accounts I've read seem rather superficial. Kanigel manages to make him sound like a man - a man with a uniqely sharp mathematical vision - but a human being nonetheless. What, I think, makes Kanigel's account so successful is his willingness to take Ramanujan's religious faith seriously and not to sideline it. He is very good at describing the two different worlds (South India and Cambridge) and letting us get a feel for the culture of each place. He also should take credit for attempting to describe some of the mathematics involved.
The Ramanujan story is, I believe, a sad one and Kanigel isn't scared to confront some of the issues that should anger some of us. Yes, Ramanujan was a phenomenon of which India should feel proud - but equally she should be shocked at how easily he could have lived his life undiscovered. Yes, Hardy should take credit for recognising Ramanujan's genius and taking him under his wing - but equally he allowed Ramanujan to live a lonely and in many way malnourished life in Britain. And so on. I think that this is an excellent, honest, book.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book after reading many others on popular mathematics. I found the book very slow, with heavy repetition of only a few themes. While Ramanujan was clearly an incredible man the book concentrates mostly on the incidental parts of his life and largely ignores the mathematical details the area I believe that defined him as an incredible individual. There was virtually no detail of any of his mathematical achievements making rather a dry biography lacking in interesting detail.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had heard of Ramanujan before, but not being a mathematician myself, I never read anything on him so I bought this biography by Kanigel. I like the style in which it is written, it makes easy reading and keeps you fascinated throughout the book. I read it in 1-2 days. The book not only covers the mathematics and collaboration with Hardy in detail but also the tremendous 'sufferings' Ramanujan had to undergo, and the culture clash between the West and India.
The book is worth the money. The only drawback I can think of is the cheap look and feel of the paperback edition. This book is certainly worth to be published in hardcover edition. I give it 4 stars because way too many books in Amazon get overrated by 5 stars and I don't want to fool people. If you are like me, with no background in Ramanujan, just buy this book, it is very good.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The one a was looking for
A very good reading. It talks not only about Ramanujan's life, but also about other great mathematicians around him and different facts that happened during the period he stayed at... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2010 by Stefanazzi Leandro
Good to read
I'm glad I read this even though I don't know much about maths, but I do know about the one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2009 by Mr. H. D. Phillips
An Excellent book that I have ever red
Srinivasa Ramanujan!What a great name and legend in the mathematical history. He is one of my favourite mathematician from my childhood. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2008 by H. R. Ellanki
An Inspirational account of the life of a Mathematical geniu
Srinivasa Ramanujan is rightly a member of the Mathematicians’ Hall of Fame. From humble beginnings in the small town of Kumbhakaon in Tamil Nadu to the hallowed cloisters of... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2003 by "jayjina"
A superb account of the life of the genius Ramanujan.
Kanigel weaves an entriguing biography from his extensive research into the life of Ramanujan. This text follows Ramanujan's journey from intellectual isolation to mathematical... Read more
Published on 10 July 2001
Once started, difficult to put down!
Robert Kanigel's research into the Ramanujan phenonenon is impressive. I knew very little about this genius and his contributions to pure mathematics. Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2000
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