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Summary: An incredible man, an incredible book...
Review: An endearing look at one of our century's mathematical geniuses. Erdos lived and breathed mathematics. He had no home, no car, no family, and no interests other than numbers. He maintained an astonishing level of productivity right up until his death. Erdos existed on the generosity of others. He moved from university to university, giving talks, participating in seminars, but mostly just meeting other mathematicians and students, and asking "what are you working on now?" Colleagues welcomed him with open arms, for he was usually good for solving an intractable problem or two, collaborating on a few papers, and then moving on to his next temporary abode. This is a delightful book about a delightful person, eccentric though he was. It's also a good look into how mathematicians work.
Rating: 
Summary: Ya don't need ta be a math guru
Review: This is a book everyone can enjoy. I know very little about math and was able to keep up with the contents. There is a good deal of interesting math trivia as well as information on the lives of other famous mathematicians. The life of Mr. Erdos is very fascinating in and of itself. This book is very inspiring for someone like myself who plans to learn much more about the amazing field of Mathematics. If you love to read, do not think that because your math background is slim you will not be able to enjoy let alone sink your teeth into a math story. This is that very math story that is down to earth enough to capture the interests of a wide variety of readership.
Rating: 
Summary: worth reading
Review: I agree with everything that radler (review below) says, but I thought this book was all right. It IS like an extended magazine article. Parts of it were previously incarnated in one. Don' let the "317 pages" fool you, it feels shorter than that. It isn't so much a biography of Erdos but a collection of anecdotes about him. And sometimes not so much about him but about various colleagues and friends of his (it's good if for some reason you've been wondering what kind of people these mathematicians are). Naturally the book doesn't attempt any kind of rigorous survey of his math work, and only goes as far as describing a few of his proofs somewhat in narrative terms. There are almost no equations in this book. No way is this book for anyone wanting to get to the hardcore math. (I'm math illiterate but still found this a light read.) But Erdos is a really interesting character, so the book is pretty entertaining, as far as it goes. If nothing else, though, I'm glad I read this book because it explained the Monty Hall problem to me. (Hoffman's other book Archimedes Revenge is also worthwhile for at least introducing some interesting puzzles.) It goes like this: If you ever saw "Let's Make a Deal" (a stupid game show way back in the 70s), the contestant got to pick between 3 curtains. Behind one of them was a car, behind two of them was a goat or something crummy like that. The contestant picked one, but Monty Hall the emcee (who always knew where the car and goats were) always gave him/her a chance to switch to another curtain. The question is, should you switch curtains when Monty Hall gives you the chance? I thought, it can't matter if you switch or not, the chances should be the same. You're probably thinking like me. But when this question was posed to Marilyn Vos Savant (that IQ woman in Parade magazine), she said it did matter--you should always switch! A lot of mathematicians in the U.S. wrote to her after that--and most of them told her she was wrong. The great Erdos was posed the same question and he said the same thing as average mortals like you and I: "It can't matter." But guess what, the IQ woman was right, you should switch! Switching doubles your chances! You'll see why if you get through this brief chapter towards the back of the book. Of course, if you happened to follow the back-and-forth in Parade magazine back then, why would you need this book. Maybe it's kind of a comment on this book that the most interesting math thing it really explains is something that was covered in tacky Parade magazine. But what the heck, on the whole I think the book's worth reading (and I guess good for helping to enshrine such a unique person in our common hero-lore), only don't expect to boost your brain power doing it.
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Summary: Liked Schecter better
Review: I found Schecter to be a better read -- in fact, very inspiring and entertaining. But, one has to take stock of the fact that Mr. Vazsonyi thought so highly of this one.
Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: This book wasn't really about about Paul Erdos, so if you are looking for an in-depth view of his life, this book isn't for you. What it is, however, is a book that gives a nice overview of famous mathematicians and their work. For example, it has anecdotes about Gauss, Cantor, etc. After reading this book I became familiar with many famous mathematical problems and stories.
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Summary: Straight from the book
Review: Easy to read story of the life and work of mathematician Paul Erdos. Introduces the general reader to a number of topics in modern mathematics. This book is popular undoubtedly because of the weird lifestyle Erdos lived, and the fascination we have for genius, assuming, and having it confirmed here, that they are not like us. However, I found this book most interesting, because it made think about what truth is. Erdos, like many other mathematicians, believe that mathematics, unlike any other field of knowledge, represents absolute truths. Erdos used to say that God had a 'Book' of these truths, ie, these mathematical proofs, and the highest compliment Erdos could give to a colleague was that a discovered proof was "straight from the Book." However, perhaps mathematics does not derive from pure truths, but rather, by one microsecond of age, the mathematics of the Universe derives directly from the properties of the Universe. Something to think about, anyway.
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Summary: A great introduction to mathetmatics, and an entertainment
Review: A couple of online reviewers have slammed this little number for its alleged lack of intellectual rigour and serious depth. For the general reader, particularly those who feared maths in school, this is a perfect introduction. Hoffman may spend lots of time on what the hardcore would consider trivial, but his is a broad church. Incidentally, Erdos emerges from the book as a far nicer person than the title, the blurb or some of the press coverage would suggest. This works both as a "good read", an entertainment and an introduction to one of the pivotal , yet ignored, fields of 20th Century intellectual endeavour.
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining, qick read
Review: I would say that this book will truly be appreciated by anyone who has an engineering, math or science background. Not that the content is too technical in nature, but in order to appreciate what Erdos and his mathematician brethren do for a living and why they do it really requires someone who's "been there and done that". All in all I found it entertaining, and a wonderful insight into a brilliant individual. What the average person will no doubt appreciate is his tenacity, innate curiosity and unbelievable work habits. He is the classic oracle of mathematical knowledge and problem-solving.
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Summary: What a biography should be
Review: Paul Erdos, a giant of twnetieth century mathematics, takes center stage in this biography which discusses the extent of both his brilliance and eccentricities. This is a man who made up his own language, roamed the world to discuss mathematical theory, befriended and frustrated his hosts and collabortators, and in is universally remembered as a loving genius. The book itself is a series of vignettes about Erdos's life woven together with explanations of numberous mathematical problems and theories, as well as stories of other math legends. It is very inclusive of the Erdos's predecessors as well as contemporaries, and shows the evolution of mathematics, within the larger context of a biography. I loved this book, mainly because of Erdos, who was a wonderful character. I was a poor math student in school, but Hoffman's descriptions made these incredibly complex ideas that Erdos played with understandable and interesting. Also, I learned a lot about the field of mathematics, mathematicians, and about passion. These men and women devote their lives to theorems that may never have any real appication, but they do it because of a love for the subject. It was facsinating and inspiring throughout, and a wonderful book for those who want a good story, great characters, and an understandable lesson in math.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I found this book really gripping. The author described the historical context of Erdos' life well and explained the math in a way that a non-mathematician could easily understand. I couldn't put it down. I've passed it on to quite a few people who all seem to like it as well.
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