Some years ago I picked up, in a second-hand bookshop, a rather battered but extraordinary book ... 'Napoleon: how he did it' by Baron Fain, Napoleon's former 'First Secretary of the Cabinet'. It presents a picture of the Emperor, his work and personal habits. It eschews the larger historical perspective and instead concentrates on the personal and quotidian. I had hoped to acquire the secrets of Napoleonic accomplishments, just that ... 'how he did it'. The best I can say is that it is, in my case, a work in progress.
So too, though I enjoy history and biography in general, I read scientific biographies hopeful that I might understand how they achieved scientific greatness, in order obviously, that I might emulate it. The outcome is, inevitably, that I better appreciate just how exceptional the individuals are and how unlikely any strategy dependent upon emulation might be. Only one practical lesson shines through, the requirement for a sustained and unblinking focus on a challenge that is worthy of the effort that must be devoted to it. Scientific greatness is earned, but it is also chosen.
Short of step-by-step instructions on how to get a Nobel prize, here are some scientific and mathematical biographies (and autobiographies) that I have enjoyed reading, and that you may too. They are about people but also about historical and social context and as a side benefit some interesting maths and science. In each case however, they are also selected on the basis of some wonderful, lucid and entertaining writing. I have deliberately excluded group biographies or more general scientific history, this is about individuals, otherwise really first rate books such as 'The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes' would have made the list. There are no biographies of women scientists on my list, and I really need recommendations for books I should read. Surely, for example, Marie Curie merits a biography to measure up to her attainments.
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. Forget the film. This book captures the strangeness of John Nash and his navigation of the line between mental illness and sanity, and the oddity of his personal relationships. It places the work on game theory in a political and historical context and gets the balance between a troubled personal life and the mathematical work just right. Perhaps less strong on explaining game theory but it is easy to pick up the classic book (Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb) by William Poundstone to get a better understanding.
Naturalist by Edward O. Wilson. I selected this autobiography because of the quality of the writing above all, with beautifully composed vignettes. It is particularly strong in giving an insight into the early development of the scientific impetus and on his interests and motivations. Inevitably, you do not get a balanced view of the heated disputes about sociobiology that have formed a part of his later professional life but the book is sharp and witty and rarely tips into polemic.
The man Who Knew Infinity: Life of the Genius Ramanujan By Robert Kaniget. It is surprising that this book is not better known, it certainly deserves to be. The story it tells, of the self-taught mathematical genius from India, discovered through his unsolicited letters to the pure mathematician, GH Hardy, is an extraordinary one. It moves from the heat and colour of Imperial India to a cold, damp Cambridge where Ramanujan dies, tragically young. A wonderful read .
Further suggestions are very much welcomed.
Thank you,
$hreyansh $hah
(9408390654)
So too, though I enjoy history and biography in general, I read scientific biographies hopeful that I might understand how they achieved scientific greatness, in order obviously, that I might emulate it. The outcome is, inevitably, that I better appreciate just how exceptional the individuals are and how unlikely any strategy dependent upon emulation might be. Only one practical lesson shines through, the requirement for a sustained and unblinking focus on a challenge that is worthy of the effort that must be devoted to it. Scientific greatness is earned, but it is also chosen.
Short of step-by-step instructions on how to get a Nobel prize, here are some scientific and mathematical biographies (and autobiographies) that I have enjoyed reading, and that you may too. They are about people but also about historical and social context and as a side benefit some interesting maths and science. In each case however, they are also selected on the basis of some wonderful, lucid and entertaining writing. I have deliberately excluded group biographies or more general scientific history, this is about individuals, otherwise really first rate books such as 'The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes' would have made the list. There are no biographies of women scientists on my list, and I really need recommendations for books I should read. Surely, for example, Marie Curie merits a biography to measure up to her attainments.
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. Forget the film. This book captures the strangeness of John Nash and his navigation of the line between mental illness and sanity, and the oddity of his personal relationships. It places the work on game theory in a political and historical context and gets the balance between a troubled personal life and the mathematical work just right. Perhaps less strong on explaining game theory but it is easy to pick up the classic book (Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb) by William Poundstone to get a better understanding.
Naturalist by Edward O. Wilson. I selected this autobiography because of the quality of the writing above all, with beautifully composed vignettes. It is particularly strong in giving an insight into the early development of the scientific impetus and on his interests and motivations. Inevitably, you do not get a balanced view of the heated disputes about sociobiology that have formed a part of his later professional life but the book is sharp and witty and rarely tips into polemic.
The man Who Knew Infinity: Life of the Genius Ramanujan By Robert Kaniget. It is surprising that this book is not better known, it certainly deserves to be. The story it tells, of the self-taught mathematical genius from India, discovered through his unsolicited letters to the pure mathematician, GH Hardy, is an extraordinary one. It moves from the heat and colour of Imperial India to a cold, damp Cambridge where Ramanujan dies, tragically young. A wonderful read .
Further suggestions are very much welcomed.
Thank you,
$hreyansh $hah
(9408390654)
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