Birth of a Theorem

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 23 FEB 2015

French mathematician Villani illuminates his year leading up to winning the Fields Medal, alternating between technical descriptions of his work and insights into his personality. The author's stories for his children, interpretations of his dreams, and descriptions of his late-night tea-stealing escapades offer a fascinating picture of his life. The math is mostly incomprehensible, even to professional mathematicians, and little of it contributes to an understanding of the author's process. But the narrative is enjoyable anyway, and most of the work on the proof can be followed in the less technical correspondence between Villani and his colleagues. Of wider interest than the particulars of the math is the context: Villani chronicles his meetings with eminent mathematicians and describes the mathematical institutes he visits, providing a view of the math community not often seen by the general public. His energy and passion for his work show through, making the writing feel genuine and honest. A few biographical passages veer in strange, navel-gazing directions, but there is no air of pretention on the author's part. Though heavy on advanced math, Villani's book eloquently humanizes mathematicians and is inexplicably fascinating even for the layperson.