Rating: 
Summary: An accurate account account of an amazing man
Review: The life of Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar is truly the most amazing in all of science. A transcendent mathematical genius, he was both amazingly lucky and the victim of incredible misfortune. Quite possibly the greatest mathematical talent the world has ever known, his discoveries still astound and baffle those who read them.
Born to a poor, upper caste Brahmin family in the area near Madras in southern India, he was self-taught in mathematics and failed all other subjects. Only the kind patronage of those who recognized, but did not understand his talents kept him afloat in his early years.
After a few years of work as a clerk, he was the recipient of an amazing stroke of luck. An unsolicited letter with a few of his results was sent to some of the highest ranking mathematicians in England. G. H. Hardy chose to read it and after serious thought decided to respond. As Kanigel accurately relates, this was astonishing.
The idea that an upper class Englishman would read and take seriously a letter from an uneducated "native" in one of the far reaches of the empire wa almost unthinkable. The author spends a great deal of time explaining Hardy's unorthodox nature. While lengthy, it is necessary to explain why Hardy took the trouble to read the letter and respond.
Kanigel also does an excellent job in describing the culture shock that Ramanujan encountered, although one suspects that he faced a bit more racism than is mentioned. While experiencing some difficulty, the British empire wa still near the height of its power, and certainly many of those in the British Isles looked down upon their "subject peoples."
All of the human interest aspects of the Hardy-Ramanujan collaboration are told in great detail. Hardy had the greatest respect for Ramanujan the matematician, once creating a rising scale of their mathematical ability that assigned the scores
G. H. Hardy   25
H. E. Littlewood  30
David Hilbert   80
S. Ramanujan   100
certainly placing Ramanujan among the best of all time. However, Hardy was totally uninterested in Ramanujan the man and recent immigrant. At no time did Hardy ever express interest in Ramanujan's life and family in southern India.
The final chapters deal with the fate of Ramanujan's work after he died. Some of it was stored away and only recently "rediscovered" and presented to the world, another amazing chapter in the life of an amazing man.
This book is a superb account of the life and times of a man whose work and insights were so incredible that no one person really understands them all. This is one of the best mathematical biographies that I have ever read.
Published in Mathematics and Computer Education, reprinted with permission.
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful!
Review: The Ramanujan story is one of the 20th century's most remarkable, and this book is a very well-written account. I couldn't put it down. It displays some of Ramanujan's formulas, which will amaze the mathematically inclined, but mathematical knowledge is most definitely not needed to enjoy the book.
Rating:
Summary: A charming book about prewar Cambridge
Review: The remarkable story about Ramanujan has been told many times before but rarely with such a loving care to detail. In a way it is more a book about Hardy and prewar Cambridge, which beautifully explains the clash Ramanujan experienced when he appeared on the scene during WW1 and finally succumbed.
Rating:
Summary: The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan
Review: The title "The Man Who Knew Infinity" was irresistible. For a layman intrigued by mathematicians, I found that Kanigel opens a new door by portraying the accomplishments of S Ramanujan and setting his contribution in sufficient context to satisfy the non-mathematical. While it cannot be described as pacy (as is Simon Singh's "Fermat's Enigma"), it does propel the reader forward. It contrasts the educational system of South India in the early 1900s with the formal, yet creative environment of Cambridge. The genius and brilliance of a wonder mind is painted against a backdrop of isolation and the difficult route to recognition. What Ramanujan needed was the "leisure" to allow him to devote his life to what he did best. The story tracks his progress and eventual association with Cambridge mathematician GH Hardy, to whom he appealed for assistance. The reader is left to decide whether circumstances helped or hindered Ramanujan in his quest. What is not in question is that modern maths is still riding the waves of the insights of India's greatest mathematician.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!...
Review: This is a splendid book- both exquisite care and extensive research clearly went into creating it. Kanigel is both a great writer and a great journalist and scholar, since he is able to provide such an intimate description of the life of the mathematical genius Ramanujan. Not only is Kanigel's research and writing skill top notch, but also he has picked such an interesting topic to write about. Highly recommended for anyone remotely interested in the subject of genius. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".
Rating: 
Summary: A little tedious and lacking in mathematical scope.
Review: This is a wordy, somewhat tedious rendition of living and social conditions in South India and England pre-WW I and is lacking in sufficient explanation of Ramanujan's mathematical contributions. It would have been helpful if Kanigel had shortened the book and given more insight into Ramanujan's math contributions instead of merely endlessly citing effusive praise about him by Hardy and others.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book. A must read ......
Review: This is one of the best books I have read. The author keeps one's interest throughout. Even a basic grasp of mathematical concepts are enough to follow the math. I can't help wondering if Ramanujam would have lived longer if Hardy had paid a little more attention to him and had been less self absorbed. Makes one wonder how many Ramanujans exist today who don't get the opportunity they deserve.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a biography ....
Review: What a way to introduce the genius!Robert kaniegal introduces this man from a *remote* place to the world through the renowned Mozart,Beethoven etc..This intorduction says it all.Read the book and you will know Him.The Man-Mathematics-Ramanujan.
I am from Tamil Nadu,state in India and am proud to tell the world that I am from the place of the genius.
One more thing for me to take pride in-the vivid way in which Robert Kaniegal introduces the natural beauty of the place enriched by river Cauvery.At the other extreme is the beautiful Cambridge University described-The university of intellectuals right from the day *Science* was born??!!.
Coming to the subject,you get to know about the man behind the genius,G.H.Hardy and other all time great mathematicians.
You will be amazed at how Ramanujan's genius was seen what it means to be a genius and still not recognised ,not having enough money in hand and all the struggle this man underwent till one day he was RECOGNIZED.You get an insight into the personal aspects of the man also.It might in some sense change the reader's perspective about the man as such (ofcourse not the mathematician) considering his choosy nature in food etc.But you will at the same time start wonderimg how this man with a little education and not so succesful college could become the FRS,London.Is anybody interested in Tripos exam???Hey check out u got all *old* details;)
To sum up,I would appreciate the efforts Robert Kaniegal has taken to give a clear insight into the life and works of Ramanujan.
An inspirational account too!
Rating:
Summary: an extraordinary story...
Review: What strikes me most about Robert Kanigel's singular achievement is that he miraculously managed to capture on paper the story of a man that lived through three widely different contexts, colonial India, academic England, and the center of Mathematics: Number Theory. From what I know this book could've skimmed on the tales of the young, frustrated Ramanujan struggling as a student in a strict traditionalist society, but it didn't.. This book could've failed to mention in detail the many talented Indian mathematicians who tried to help Ramanujan, but it didn't.. This book could have, for the sake of editorial clarity, avoided presenting the mathematics of Ramanujan in any symbolic form, but it didn't... There are so many things going right for this biography that what I have mentioned only scratches the surface of this extraordinary effort.
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