Customer Reviews on Amazon.com

1. 39 of 42 people found this review helpful

   By Vasudevan Srinivasan on Amazon.com 29 July, 2002

   A touching biography

   Im not too fond of biographies, but I would give this book an exception.

   The life of Ramanujan is amazing and one is pushed to only awe the limits of mind. Being an Indian, I can see Robert Kanigel has given a comprehensive treatment to all facets of the life of Ramanujan - his boyhood days in small town of Kumbakonam, his obsession with Maths, his seperation from Mother and his wife, his relationship with Hardy and others, his stay in London, and his final days. Kanigel has really done a wonderful job in depicting the Brahmin house-hold of the early 1900s. One could really imagine Ramanujan with a tuft and a religious symbol on forehead, but his mind calculating 10,000 th decimal of pi.

   His purely professional relations with Hardy has also been very deftly depicted. How hard the days must have been! Being a Ramanujan's biography its hard to avoid mathematical formulas - and the author justifiably includes them when necessary. But even if you do not understand them - you can just wonder at the string of symbols joined together to purport some meaning.

   The narration is truly captivating. It sends an horripulating feeling to the mind, when Hardy describes the first letter of formulas as "These must be true. If they are not, nobody would have the audacity to invent it."

   The final days of Ramanujan are indeed sad and emotional and also beautifuly captured in the book. Typical is the life of geniuses - the world has hard time understanding them. This book is really worth in my library.
2. 10 of 10 people found this review helpful

   By A. Mason on Amazon.com 8 April, 2007

   An Extraordinary Biography

   This is a captivating, illuminating, and deeply moving biography of the Indian mathematical genius S. Ramanujan. Genius is always enigmatic, and mathematical genius doubly so to the general reader for whom math will always be a closed book. One of the extraordinary things about this biography is Kanigel's gift for mathematical exposition at the layman level. As a mathematician myself, I can only say I've never seen its equal. Although to some extent he is helped by the "elementary" nature of much of R.'s work -- its gist can be grasped with only a basic understanding of calculus -- the task is still daunting. Yet everything is clearly and correctly explained, freshly, succinctly, memorably.
   
   Kanigel's book is equally rich in human terms, too. His portrait of R. shows not only a genius but also a simple, spontaneous, likeable man. R. must have been the world's worst math tutor -- one shudders at the thought -- yet people liked him. This was a crucial factor in R.'s getting the opportunity to bring his gifts to full flower, for heaven and earth had to be moved. It's sad to think of the other Ramanujans in India and elsewhere who, crushed by life's hardships, were never able to develop or perhaps even recognize their gifts.
   
   I take issue with the previous reviewer concerning Kanigel's treatment of Hardy. Hardy is a complex and fascinating figure in his own right and his personality needs to be explored in the context of his relationship with R. His homosexuality was a part of the constellation and a factor in his championing of the underdog (including women in mathematics), his openness to the unorthodox, and his willingness to take risks. Although bound by their common love for mathematics, the two men were otherwise poles apart both temperamentally and culturally. This contrast adds further interest and poignancy to the already romantic, Cinderella-like story of R.'s brief life in this world, and Mr. Kanigel makes the most of it.
   
   Urgently recommended!
3. 13 of 14 people found this review helpful

   By A Customer on Amazon.com 24 February, 1997

   An excellent book for people who love Science and History

   In each field of science there are many unsung heroes whose stories are all but forgotten. Nevertheless some of these stories are astonishing and in the hands of a good author makes fscinating reading.
   One such story is that of Ramanujan, who was to Math what Mozart was to music. His genius was almost mystical. This book deals with his life, how came to the attention of Hardy, went to England and became one of the well known mathematicians of his time.
   But this book also deals with the "mystical" aspects of his genius. Strange, almost unbelievable anecdotes of how from the esoteric shadows of the east came an almost uneducated man who, isolated from the scientific world, rediscovered many of the great mathematical theorems that had been dsicovered over centuries in Europe.
   The book is written in a superb style. I really enjoyed reading it, and I urge everyone to read it for its sheer entertainment value
4. 7 of 7 people found this review helpful

   By Judd R. Meyers on Amazon.com 16 December, 2005

   Inspiration vs. Education

   While an interesting story, what really separates this book from the pack is its probing look at how much we can learn drawing only from the universe, versus sitting in class and having someone tell us what they have been told is known. Ramanujin operating in a social vacuum experienced tremendous sucesses and tremendous failures. He reinvented theorems that were known 100 years earlier, because he did not attend universities that would have saved him such work. On the other side of the equation, he tackled problems sometimes, from a completely unique perspective, having not had his way of thinking "institutionalized" by those same universities. This is the lesson that hits home in this book. Both types of learning are important. Both create stumbling blocks to higher levels of discovery. It seems to me that this is probably true of every discipline to which we have given a name.
5. 5 of 5 people found this review helpful

   By JAY on Amazon.com 26 November, 2002

   Inspirational account of the life of a Mathematical genius

   An Inspirational account of the life of a Mathematical genius

   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 Trinity College, Cambridge, this magnificent book narrates the story of Ramanujan's trails, tribulations and triumphs.

   Central to the story are the powerful influences of Ramanujan's mother and the great English Mathematician, Godfrey Harold Hardy. If his mother, Komala shaped the first part of Ramanujan's life, then surely Hardy must take full credit for bringing Ramanujan's prodigious talents to the attention of the world Mathematical community. Other prominent characters also figure in the story - notably Ramanujan's many friends, Narayana Aiyer, Gopalachari, leading lights in the Indian Mathematical establishment, members of the ruling British classes, Sir Francis Spring, the Governor of Madras Presidency, and Cambridge Mathematicians, Neville and Littlewood.

   The book presents a touching portrait of Ramanujan the man: an orthodox Vaishav Bhraman, steeped in Hindu culture with all the attendant characteristics of a deeply spiritual outlook, a calm self-assurance about his abilities, and most of all, an obsession with Mathematics. Hardy, his mentor, is also biographed as the passionately atheist, Winchester educated son of a middle class schoolmaster who went up to Cambridge, and at the turn of the 20th century, almost single handed masterminded the rise of English Pure Mathematics.
6. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

   By Hemant Kumar on Amazon.com 18 July, 2007

   Perfect Demonstration Of How A Biography Should Be Written

   As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, Kanigel does not dwell much on Ramanujan's mathematics. However, this is a spectacularly outstanding biography (this is not an exaggeration, believe me). Anyone who reads this book cover to cover will 'know' Ramanujan as well as they know their best friend. The many sides of this prodigy's personality - his affinity for mysticism, his need for public approbation, his gentle good nature - are all expertly transmitted. The tragedy of a life cut short at the height of its productivity will be felt keenly even by the 'toughest' of readers. Kanigel deserves high praise indeed for the masterly way he evokes time and place: Southern India and Cambridge (England) during 1900-20. If it were possible to award 6 stars, I would have done that.
   A few further points: 1) Kanigel's decision to give G. H. Hardy equal importance (almost) as Ramanujan is a strength of this book, not a drawback. This decision adds much richness to the narrative. 2) Kanigel returns to one question repeatedly: What is 'genius' and where does it come from? He succeeds in getting the reader to wonder along with him. There is probably no (one) good answer, but a life such as Ramanujan's should lead one to ponder this deeply. 3) I wish that in a future edition Kanigel would include an appendix, with some of the more accessible of Ramanujan's mathematical formulae. I am sure that any one of the 'gang of three' Ramanujan specialists (George Andrews, Richard Askey, and Bruce Berndt) would help him with this if he requested. The biography is superb, as already stated, but this would be dessert for those readers who have a mathematical background.
7. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

   By Sujith on Amazon.com 9 August, 2006

   Great book about the life of a mathematical genius

   This is an engrossing, fascinating and well written and researched book about an Indian mathematical prodigy who burst upon the world scene in the early 19th century only to die under tragic circumstances a few years later. The book chronicles the life history of Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor clerk in South India, who wrote a letter filled with his math formulae and discoveries to the famous English mathematician G. H. Hardy. Hardy recognized the letter as the work of a genius, even though Ramanujan had no formal training in math, not even a college degree. Ramanujan then left to England to work with Hardy in Cambridge. The intuitive brilliance of Ramanujan, combined with the formality and rigor of Hardy, gave rise to a unique and fruitful mathematical partnership. The life of Ramanujan was cut short however when he succumbed to tuberculosis at the tender age of thirty two.
   
   Kanigel does a brilliant job describing Ramanujan's life and his partnership with Hardy. He vividly portrays south India where Ramanujan lived for most of his life. He also excels in describing the relationship between Hardy and Ramanujan and the respect and esteem Hardy had for the Indian genius (on a scale of mathematical ability, Hardy gives himself a 25 whereas Ramanujan gets 100). Kanigel also tries to give the reader a taste of the mathematical work that Ramanujan did, even though it is beyond the realm of most people. The last few pages where Ramanujan is close to death were very touching. You just wonder what else Ramanujan could have achieved had he lived longer.
   
   The wonder of Ramanujan was that he was able to make great intuitive leaps which lead to wonderful discoveries. However he was unable to prove many of his results rigorously as he had no formal training. Therefore Ramanujan's work and unproved ideas he documented are still being researched, proved and marveled at even now. I would have liked the book to have some more mathematical details (maybe in an appendix) where we could appreciate what exactly Ramanujan's contributions to mathematics were and how they are pertinent to the modern age.
8. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

   By Ajay Tirumala on Amazon.com 24 October, 2005

   A passionate biography.. very interesting read

   This book presents a balanced view of the life of the genius Ramanujan and how his association with Hardy nurtured him. According to Hardy, who himself was one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his time, Euler and Gauss are the only ones who come close to Ramanujan's abilities. Kanigel's portrayals of Cambridge and S.India are very vivid. It brings back some pictures of my visits to the places in India mentioned in the book.
   
   Also, during a time when Indians were considered second class citizens in their own country, it is commendable that Hardy acknowledged a letter from an Indian clerk and decided to bring him to the premier institution in England. Significant part of the book is devoted Hardy's biography which is also pretty interesting.
   
   Kanigel's has spent quite some time in India and Cambridge researching the facts of Ramanujan's life and contributions and has churned up a phenomenal biography. I could not put the book down.
   
   On a side note, I'd recommend not wasting too much time on the mathematical formulae presented, there are only a countable few in the world who have understood this.
9. 4 of 4 people found this review helpful

   By Librum on Amazon.com 8 July, 2004

   Outstanding Biography

   An exemplary piece of biographical writing. Kanigel brings Ramanujan, his times, and his contemporaries vividly to life. I wish even more of Ramanujan's mathematical contributions had been treated, but appreciate that a biographer has many priorities. Kanigel handles them all deftly. One of the finest (most informative and engaging) biographies I've ever read.
10. 3 of 3 people found this review helpful

    By Avery Z. Conner on Amazon.com 12 March, 2003

    Magnificent!...

    This is a splendid book- both exquisite care and extensive research clearly went into creating it. Kanigel is both a great writer and a great journalist and scholar, since he is able to provide such an intimate description of the life of the mathematical genius Ramanujan. Not only is Kanigel's research and writing skill top notch, but also he has picked such an interesting topic to write about. Highly recommended for anyone remotely interested in the subject of genius. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".