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Logicomix: An epic search for truth Paperback – September 29, 2009

by Apostolos Doxiadis (Author),‎ Christos Papadimitriou (Author)

214 customer reviews

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This exceptional graphic novel recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. In his agonized search for absolute truth, Russell crosses paths with legendary thinkers like Gottlob Frege, David Hilbert, and Kurt Gödel, and finds a passionate student in the great Ludwig Wittgenstein. But his most ambitious goal-to establish unshakable logical foundations of mathematics-continues to loom before him. Through love and hate, peace and war, Russell persists in the dogged mission that threatens to claim both his career and his personal happiness, finally driving him to the brink of insanity.

This story is at the same time a historical novel and an accessible explication of some of the biggest ideas of mathematics and modern philosophy. With rich characterizations and expressive, atmospheric artwork, the book spins the pursuit of these ideas into a highly satisfying tale.

Probing and ingeniously layered, the book throws light on Russell's inner struggles while setting them in the context of the timeless questions he spent his life trying to answer. At its heart, Logicomix is a story about the conflict between an ideal rationality and the unchanging, flawed fabric of reality.

Logicomix: An epic search for truth

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
This exceptional graphic novel recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell. In his agonized search for absolute truth, Russell crosses paths with legendary thinkers like Gottlob Frege, David Hilbert, and Kurt Gödel, and finds a passionate student in the great Ludwig Wittgenstein. But his most ambitious goal--to establish unshakable logical foundations of mathematics--continues to loom before him. Through love and hate, peace and war, Russell persists in the dogged mission that threatens to claim both his career and his personal happiness, finally driving him to the brink of insanity.

Take a Look Inside
The creators of Logicomix introduce us to Bertrand Russell in 1939 during one of his public lectures. Russell explores the question, "What is logic?" by telling the story of "one of [logic’s] most ardent fans"--himself. The panels that follow (click each image to see the full page) reimagine the life of a brilliant young man with a passion for mathematics.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. An ambitious full-color exploration of the life and ideas of philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, the book meticulously interconnects Russell's life, the timelessness of his ideas and the process of creating the book. While a comic about the quest for the foundations of mathematics may seem arduous, it is engrossing on many levels; the story moves, despite heavy philosophical and technical information, as the images, dialogue and narration play off each other. Russell's story is framed within a speech he gave on the brink of America's entry into WWII, in which he expounds his life and philosophical journey. Russell's story is also framed by the creators working in Greece, as they discuss and mold his life into a narrative structure. One of the most prominent themes is the conflict and symbiosis between madness and logic. The fear of madness haunts Russell because of childhood trauma, as he neurotically pushes himself toward what he conceives of as its opposite, a system for certainty. Inventive, with both subtle and overt narrative techniques, the comic form organizes the complex ideas into a simpler system, combining to form a smart and engaging journey through the ambiguity of truth. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; Original edition (October 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596914521
ISBN-13: 978-1596914520
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.8 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 214 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #37 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Historical & Biographical Fiction
- #42 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > History
- #44 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Educational & Nonfiction

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Michael George

the limits of our humanity in the pursuit of truth

August 17, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In this book, we see some of the personality and characteristics, chiefly of Bertrand Russell, but also of other people involved with the efforts to establish a connection between logic and the language, or perhaps, game, of mathematics. This develops a significant picture of people who saw the possibility of making small incremental adjustments via logic to establish significant aspects of mathematics. This, however, was not the world that was unfolding before their efforts. Instead, as with Russell's paradox, small incremental changes were shown sometimes to lead to large, unpredictable changes in meaning. The book tries to capture this by suggesting a proximity of these intellectual activities to madness and the chaos of war. While Russell never crossed the fine line into the distress that nonlinearity can bring with it, some of the people he was pictured to associate with did cross the line, such as Wittgenstein, who actually participated as a soldier in WWI. I liked the book. It gave a flavor for this subtle boundary between civilization and madness. It also suggested that those such as Russell in pursuit of truth at a deep level were coming very close to that line. The people who worked on the book were also depicted. Their task was not this deep philosophical pursuit: They lived their lives calmly remotely from the borderlands. This is an extremely good book for giving an indication of what it means to get close to madness or the chaos of war, and how those far from it can feel insulated, pursuing their mundane purposes on the surface of life. I recommend this book for obtaining a view of the limits of our humanity in pursuit of the truth, but not for any deep philosophical or mathematical insights.

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Doctor Moss

"The Role of Logic in Human Affairs"

April 28, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Bertrand Russell and Principia Mathematica wouldn't be at the top of my list as candidates for graphic novels, but this is good, even provocative. You can quarrel with details of the depictions of personalities, theories, and proofs, but it's still as good a mix of entertainment and intellectual history as you could really hope for.

The story elevates Russell's (and Whitehead's) quest for a logical foundation to mathematics to the central tension of both Russell's life and the history of philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century. For Russell, it's a search for certainty in a life threatened by madness. For philosophy, it's a turning point not only in the philosophy of mathematics, but in the understanding of the relationship between reason and reality. And it is the link, via Von Neumann and Turing, between logic and the foundations of modern computing.

Virtually all of those themes are debatable -- in what sense Russell and Whitehead were seeking a "foundation" (e.g., an explanation vs. a justification), what role the successes and failures of Principia Mathematica played in the changing status of rationalism, and what debt computing theory owes specifically to the work of Russell and Whitehead and the controversies arising from it. The story places Russell firmly at the center, even putting him on a kind of odyssey, visiting and conversing in person with virtually all the major figures in mathematics and philosophy of the time.

The authors clearly present the work as at least partly fictional, inventing meetings for example between Russell and Frege and between Russell and Cantor, none of which ever happened. And Russell's story is told via an imagined lecture by Russell, attended in part by anti-war (World War II) protesters Russell has encountered on his way into the lecture. The entire story is framed by conversations among the authors, about Russell, Principia, and the story itself, lending a kind of post-modern effect to the whole thing.

If there's a flaw I would pick on, it wouldn't be the details of the biographies, theories, or proofs. This is a graphic novel, after all -- if you want academic precision, you should have gone in a different direction. On the other hand, I didn't find a lot of drama in Russell's message to the protesters. I think I get it -- "There's no royal road to truth", as he says, and you can't expect so much of "the role of logic in human affairs". You can't fall back on the dictates of certainty -- in the end, there is no escaping the responsibility to make judgements -- a profound recognition for sure, but the punch in its depiction here is lacking for me.

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ScienceThinker

Unique! Amazing idea, uniquely executed.

April 14, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Since many other reviews have been written on this book, I would only like to add 1-2 comments that, I think, have not been made. This books is a very serious work. Its content was researched thoroughly. The script was written with care. And the art work was made with extreme care and dedication to perfection. The book took eight and half years (!) to be created. Just pay attention to the details of the drawings and the coloring of the panels in each single page. I have shown this book to graphic artists and painters and they have made only comments of admiration and excitement. Other authors tried to capitalize on the success of this book but their products were not equally good in terms of art and script. For example, look at Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn't Work), in Words and Pictures. The book is printed in black and white cartoons. Forgetting color, the panels are extremely simple, without any details and artistic features. There is no story except narration of a topic.

Logicomix has set the bar of graphic novels so high that will be very hard for any other author to match it --- let alone surpass it --- without serious and long term work on a project.

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Amazon Customer

A Different Journey

June 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A fascinating journey. It's both an introspection and a biography, as well as a general search for what coming to a conclusion really means. Some stroy elements are fictional, so dont go telling all your friends abiut this book like its a bible or diary or something. Its not. What it is is a journey. If you like journey's, or reading abiut other people's journey's, this is an excellent twist on that tradition that gives you, the reader, a bit more than just the journey itself.

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Most recent customer reviews

Wow

This book is a masterful example of how a graphic novel can trace a historical story. This is life of Bertrand Russell, told within a frame narrative, and with flashbacks and...Read more

Published 1 month ago by JD

Good Intro to Russell's Philosophy

Not quite as good as Economix which inspired me to try this but very interesting account of Betrand Russell's search for the foundations of Mathematics

Published 1 month ago by Historied

even a mathphobic will like it

I'll be brief:

1) This 300+ page book took 8+ years to write and illustrate. The team behind it did an incredible amount of research and work.Read more

Published 3 months ago by Frank L. Greenagel II

Lots of fun!!!

Excellent way of learning the history of logic and its characters.

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Great story along with excellent graphics !

Published 4 months ago by Sam Iam

Five Stars

Incredibly interesting and enjoyable way to tell this story.

Published 7 months ago by Kyle

Five Stars

Exceptional read

Published 7 months ago by Rob B

Beautiful drawings.

Interesting content. Beautiful drawings.

Published 9 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

great story and true and with drawings. What else do u want?

Published 11 months ago by yehuda volk

Great read! Super enjoyable story of Russell's life

Great read! Super enjoyable story of Russell's life. I found the framing device a little grating - a lot of background exposition and speculation is explicitly presented as...Read more

Published 12 months ago by Tatami Hawker Vent

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