Buy new:
$23.91
FREE delivery: May 16 - June 21 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
List Price: $28.00 Details

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $4.09 (15%)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery May 16 - June 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 15 - June 20
Usually ships within 1 to 2 months
$$23.91 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.91
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery April 30 - May 6 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery April 29 - May 2
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by Pip Mart
Condition: Used: Very Good
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth Hardcover – July 15, 1998

4.6 out of 5 stars 325

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.91","priceAmount":23.91,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"91","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PnTrq96eRPQcPU01KBfTemOa7w0t%2FHSu98a0gydLxaTTJecJb7UpWo6VdVZRmHxorl2BeZkQo1fMY7ydM2Ak%2Fj3aHBnadaNVq787Ec6Jh7SfIs%2Bah6TovoDoD1rCT7TG3rEqVuDqtTE%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$17.99","priceAmount":17.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"17","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PnTrq96eRPQcPU01KBfTemOa7w0t%2FHSuQg1g7iiHk2%2F3JDU9t7fkSpo75dF9uxoVriN136gYZYWAGWPftAXpiDgXp56TvIdxHTMyEuZM%2BdbYE6cspWD11D42Ktmf37SzQgIv8efesdqnFGZ6ZgXyQWvXreHouaOq2mh6YN3B5IeIGrkU2rUEbUGIEaBQkXZP","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

"A funny, marvelously readable portrait of one of the most brilliant and eccentric men in history." --The Seattle Times

Paul Erdos was an amazing and prolific mathematician whose life as a world-wandering numerical nomad was legendary. He published almost 1500 scholarly papers before his death in 1996, and he probably thought more about math problems than anyone in history. Like a traveling salesman offering his thoughts as wares, Erdos would show up on the doorstep of one mathematician or another and announce, "My brain is open." After working through a problem, he'd move on to the next place, the next solution.

Hoffman's book, like Sylvia Nasar's biography of John Nash,
A Beautiful Mind, reveals a genius's life that transcended the merely quirky. But Erdos's brand of madness was joyful, unlike Nash's despairing schizophrenia. Erdos never tried to dilute his obsessive passion for numbers with ordinary emotional interactions, thus avoiding hurting the people around him, as Nash did. Oliver Sacks writes of Erdos: "A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject--he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until the day he died. He traveled constantly, living out of a plastic bag, and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art--all that is usually indispensable to a human life."

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is easy to love, despite his strangeness. It's hard not to have affection for someone who referred to children as "epsilons," from the Greek letter used to represent small quantities in mathematics; a man whose epitaph for himself read, "Finally I am becoming stupider no more"; and whose only really necessary tool to do his work was a quiet and open mind.

Hoffman, who followed and spoke with Erdos over the last 10 years of his life, introduces us to an undeniably odd, yet pure and joyful, man who loved numbers more than he loved God--whom he referred to as SF, for Supreme Fascist. He was often misunderstood, and he certainly annoyed people sometimes, but Paul Erdos is no doubt missed. --Therese Littleton

The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

$23.91
Usually ships within 1 to 2 months
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$22.22
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Starpoint books.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Paul Erdös was an amazing and prolific mathematician whose life as a world-wandering numerical nomad was legendary. He published almost 1500 scholarly papers before his death in 1996, and he probably thought more about math problems than anyone in history. Like a traveling salesman offering his thoughts as wares, Erdös would show up on the doorstep of one mathematician or another and announce, "My brain is open." After working through a problem, he'd move on to the next place, the next solution.

Hoffman's book, like Sylvia Nasar's biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, reveals a genius's life that transcended the merely quirky. But Erdös's brand of madness was joyful, unlike Nash's despairing schizophrenia. Erdös never tried to dilute his obsessive passion for numbers with ordinary emotional interactions, thus avoiding hurting the people around him, as Nash did. Oliver Sacks writes of Erdös: "A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdös was totally obsessed with his subject--he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until the day he died. He traveled constantly, living out of a plastic bag, and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art--all that is usually indispensable to a human life."

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is easy to love, despite his strangeness. It's hard not to have affection for someone who referred to children as "epsilons," from the Greek letter used to represent small quantities in mathematics; a man whose epitaph for himself read, "Finally I am becoming stupider no more"; and whose only really necessary tool to do his work was a quiet and open mind. Hoffman, who followed and spoke with Erdös over the last 10 years of his life, introduces us to an undeniably odd, yet pure and joyful, man who loved numbers more than he loved God--whom he referred to as SF, for Supreme Fascist. He was often misunderstood, and he certainly annoyed people sometimes, but Paul Erdös is no doubt missed. --Therese Littleton

From Scientific American

The peripatetic Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos (1913­1996) was renowned for his almost total concentration on his work. Hoffman describes him as "a mathematical monk" who renounced physical pleasure and material possessions for an ascetic, contemplative life, a life devoted to uncovering mathematical truth. This he did in 1,475 papers that he wrote or co-authored with 485 collaborators--more than any other mathematician has produced and a landmark that has given rise to the cherished "Erdos number." An Erdos co-author's number is 1; a mathematician who has published with someone who was an Erdos co-author is a 2, and so on in widening circles to infinity for everyone who has never written a mathematical paper. Hoffman is among those at infinity, but he describes Erdos's life and eccentricities engagingly and deals comprehensively with the great man's mathematical work.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hachette Books; First Edition (July 15, 1998)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0786863625
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0786863624
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 325

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Paul Hoffman
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
325 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2012
Every field has its share of eccentric geniuses. But I think it is fair to say that Paul Erdos was in a class by himself. Never has there been one like him, and no one on the horizon comes close to him. A mathematical prodigy, he spent his entire life doing nothing but mathematics, morning, noon and night, at a pace that humbled even his most frenetic (and much younger) followers. He had no romantic interests, no home, no car, no worldly possessions worthy of the name, and donated all his meager earnings to people and causes. He traveled the world incessantly with two old suitcases, seeding creative ideas left and right, leaving the task of writing things up to eager collaborators, not caring who got the credit as long as the work got done. As a result, he co-authored more papers than any other mathematician in history. He particularly encouraged children (or "epsilons", as he called them) to pursue math. He let others take care of him in all details, staying with them and engaging them in cutting-edge mathematical conversation without pause. He was funny in an irreverent sort of way. He was a people man: He needed to engage people all the time. Consider just this story: He went to a party where a lot of mathematicians were eager to meet him and talk to him, but upon learning there was an old blind grandfather upstairs, he went up and spent the entire evening alone with him. He may not have been religious, but Jewish values shine throughout his life. Hoffman did a good job introducing his readers to such a unique individual.
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2022
Clean unmarked paperback in excellent condition. I'm very pleased with the purchase and recommend the seller.
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2016
I bought this book for my daughter - a math major. I decided to read it so I would understand her passion for mathematics. I admit that I had to skim over some of the actual math (not my strong suit) but I wasn't reading it to learn higher math. I wanted the essence, motivation, devotion, and passion that attracts people to mathematics and I was not disappointed. The author, Paul Hoffman, did not write a chronological story of the life of Paul Erdos, which may have made a logical but somewhat dry account of a fascinating and strange man. Instead, Hoffman kept me wondering what would be revealed next. I laughed in parts and wanted to cry at the passing of Erdos, a man who touched the lives of many. I feel honored to have caught a glimmer of his extraordinary, crazy life and better understand my daughter's passion.
39 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2007
This is a very interesting and enjoyable book about Paul Erdos, an eccentric math genius.

Speaking as a former college "Mathlete" (Kappa Mu Epsilon), I used to (and still do) have an abiding love for mathematical 'truths', and this book gives readers a brief introduction to some of the many ways that a sense of wonder & curiosity, focused on the universe through the prism of mathematics, can fire one's soul on many levels, both intellectual and spiritual.

As for myself - after a promising start, I peaked early back in undergrad school, and eventually left the field after finishing a minor degree, and moved on to other studies. However, my sense of wonder has remained ... and it was this book that helped me to recall some of my old joys, and to relive some of the might-have beens, had I been able to stay with it.

In any case, the book is a fine read. However, I have some nits that I've ranked them from most to least annoying:

1) MISSING PROOFS: The author, during his tale, mentions in passing many interesting mathematical problems and theorems that both Paul Erdos, and other mathematicians, helped to solve ... but in the vast majority of instances, the author anti-climactically fails to include the details of those proofs for the benefit of interested & proficient readers. IMHO, proofs of less than, say, 5 pages, could and should have been included in an appendix, and the author could have referred readers to appropriate AMS publications for those proofs that are longer and more involved. Instead, the author leaves the reader with nadda in all but a few trivial instances. It always irks me off when an author (or editor) dumbs down a book because they think readers can't keep up. Very annoying, and very anti-climactic. I mean come on - what's the point of spending pages and pages telling about the quest for a solution, only to finish lamely that yes, they solved it ... but omit all the details. Feh.

2) FOCUS: The author did a commendable job assembling and integrating a large array of verbal and historical accounts into a fairly coherent whole ... but he also has a mildly irritating tendency to meander around, in his focus, somewhat like a runaway horse cart. First forwards in time, then backwards, then sideways across various topics, then in the middle of nowhere we're talking about Fibonacci, Gödel, Gauss, then back to the present, and then to his childhood again, etc. In other words, the flow of the book is a bit uneven and fractured in places, and IMHO it could have benefited from some additional polishing and a bit of re-organization. I kept wanting to grab the reins and drag the book back on course. It's a fine ride, but it's a bit more rickety and bouncy then it could have been with some better editing.

3) ENDMATTER: The author/editor neglected to tie the "Acknowledgements and Source Notes" section in the rear of the book (p. 269- p.278) into the main text with some helpful endnotes or annotations ... thus rendering the section mostly useless to first time readers. Without notations to clue a reader in that that information is present in the back, then readers are left to finish the book unaware of it's existence until they reach the end ... by which time the information is of little or no value.

Highly enjoyable. Subtract a star if you're a math geek who prefers to see actual proofs, rather than simply taking solutions for granted, sans details.
16 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2019
What a delightful book on one of best mathematicians of the 20 century. The author captures in vivid terms the portrait of a one track mind-dedicated-mono maniacal giant in his quest of discovering truth in numbers. The reader gets a glimpse of the most important developments in number theory over the last 300 years by Euler, Gauss, Fibonacci, etc. on whose achievements Erdos built.

Although I am not a mathematician, I had no trouble following all the analytics throughout the book. Kudos to the author who writes in lucid and clear terms.

Humanity needs people like Paul Erdos.
11 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2012
Hoffman did an excellent job of covering one of the world's most interesting mathematicians. The book was everything that I had hoped it to be, describing not only the eccentric, quirky, but loveable Erdos, but also some of the math with which he grappled. Hoffman allows the reader to move through the book smiling, avoiding in-depth, tortuous mathematical proofs or other in-depth mathematical theory. The book is about Erdos, not math, and Hoffman manages to keep the focus on the strange little man from Hungary and his brilliant career which produced over 1,700 papers. At the end, when I put the book down, I remember thinking, "Wow, I would have loved to have met him!"
3 people found this helpful
Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Mauro
5.0 out of 5 stars Hermoso libro
Reviewed in Mexico on January 20, 2022
Una de las mejores recopilaciones de anécdotas vividas por un personaje tan célebre como es el gran Paul Erdos. Recomendadísimo.
Bogdan
1.0 out of 5 stars The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 20, 2024
Yet another book printed in an Amazon warehouse, somewhere in France.
Amazon is slowly destroying publishing houses and I have to stop ordering my books from here.
Leonardo P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!Super Great!
Reviewed in Italy on November 15, 2021
This is one of the best books for any math lover. It is not only a biography, but also a deep text that touches many mathematicians and problems. This was awesome!

And this printed paper is so good!
Marcelo
5.0 out of 5 stars Erdos. Se vc sabe que é, deve ler este livro.
Reviewed in Brazil on November 11, 2019
Uma história fantástica, de um matemático fantástico e um ser humano singular.
Frederic Dubois
5.0 out of 5 stars PAssionnant
Reviewed in France on March 15, 2020
Très bien écrit on découvre ce génie des maths..de façon précise