Rating: 
Summary: For the Love of Numbers
Review: "Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture" is a fable in three chapters. It is well-crafted, thoughtful, and a digest of the author's own experience with the field of mathematics. We have placed it on our shelf beside the works of Chekhov, Shaw, Russell and Synge. The central thesis applies to everyone and it is that "The secret of life is to set attainable goals." Having done that, we must then learn to deal with love - love of family, love of self, love of lovers, and love of an idea, the latter especially for those who have received the gift of genius. Love is the mesolimbic imperative that gives us life and in so doing, consumes us thereafter. All of this is there and we may recognize that Uncle Petros' failure is not one of hubris or incompetence, but rather, that he did not love enough, that he did not strike with his genius when he had to. His gift did lie fallow for twenty years, and in the end, did return again to complete its task, and to take his life. The publisher has offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone who can decide the Goldbach Conjecture in the next year or so. It is believed that there are perhaps eight people in the world today who might be able to do that. If you believe that you might be the ninth in this field (or any other), then indeed this book is required reading.
Rating:
Summary: Oudeis ageometretos eiseto
Review: A young boy decided to find out the truth about his mysterious, eccentric uncle Petros, a retired professor of mathematics. As he grows into his teens, his obsession with the old man does not diminish, on the contrary, it tempts him into pursuing a career of mathematician himself. Page after page, we follow him as he unveils secrets about his uncle and his life-long struggle with a mathematical hypothesis known as Goldbach's conjecture.With Petros and his nephew, the reader enters the arcane and exciting area of number theory, a pandemonium of Goldbach's Conjecture, Riemann Hypothesis, Prime Number Theorem, to name a few, with Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem being a guest star. Apostolos Doxiadis, a mathematician by his formal education, stands firmly on his ground - science-wise, there are no apparent flops in the book, which happens so often with writes less acquainted with the locale they put their protagonists in. The title of this review, borrowed from Plato, is an exaggeration - no prior mathematical knowledge is required to enjoy this novel; some love for mathematics, however, is. Doxiadis - ......... - first published Uncle Petros (O Theios Petros ...) in Greek in 1992, one year before Andrew Wiles announced that he found the proof of the Fermat's Last Theorem. One out of the three most difficult problems in mathematics has thus proven to be solvable, after 350 years. To this day, Goldbach's Conjecture is still "only" 250 years old, and not solved yet. However, the publishers of Uncle Petros, Faber & Faber (UK) and Bloomsbury (USA) have issued a $1,000,000 challenge to prove it. Would you like to pick up where Petros Papachristos left it?
Rating: 
Summary: El libro del millón de dólares
Review: Decir que este es el libro del "millón de dólares" puede sonar un poco exagerado, pero es la verdad. Por supuesto que no me refiero al costo del mismo y tampoco a su alto contenido y excelencia literaria, sino a la campaña publicitaria que fue montada al momento de su lanzamiento... La editorial ofreció la cifra de seis ceros a quien sea capaz de demostrar un problema de mas de 250 años: "La Conjetura de Goldbach". El Libro nos embarca junto al "Tío Petros" (un matemático brillante), en la búsqueda desesperada, obstinada y hasta psicótica de la solución del histórico problema. No puedo decir que vayamos a encontrar grandes sorpresas y reveses en la trama, pero es recomendable para el que gusta de las matemáticas, su historia y el enredo psicológico en que se puede caer al enfrentarse a desafíos inalcanzables.
Rating:
Summary: More than it might suggest
Review: I am not a mathematician. Indeed, my High School mathematics teachers would probably be a bit surprised to find me reading a novel about mathematics. However, that this novel deals with some of the history of Number Theory in mathematics is just part of what is going on. 'Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture' deals with notions of talent, obsession, failure, and choice. The narrative concerns a man with incredible talent in mathematics who becomes obsessed with finding the solution to one of mathematics great problems. His failure (at least in any recognisable way) to find the solution leads many, especially his family, to question the choices that he made. However, one of his nephews (the narrator) finds his uncle fascinating and learns many things which force him to re-evaluate both his family's opinion of Uncle Petros, and his own choices in life. In some ways this novel reminded me of 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder. Where Gaarder's book dealt with the history of philosophy, this one uses the history of Number Theory as it's backdrop. However, if anything the narrative framework for this novel was tighter and more convincing (although the novel itself is relatively short). While I didn't always understand the mathematics of what was going on, that didn't matter for the plot and it has raised some ideas that I will try and read more about in the future. A novel that makes you think about aspects of life AND teaches you some basics about mathematics, I'm glad that I read it.
Rating:
Summary: A good fictional book on mathematicians? Astounding!
Review: I apprached this book with both excitement and trepedation. I have seen too many fiction trivialize the technical professions. Poking fun at what may seem like inconsequential tics of the practicioners of the technical trade. This book surprized me. Even though the author did not delve deeply into the guts of the mathematics, he was able to convey the sense of excitement and intrinsic satisfaction associated with doing higher math. The plot twists were entertaining and unexpected, the prose pretty good considering that it was translated from the original Greek. I hope that this is a sign of better things to come.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down! Mishka M Mourani
Review: I couldn't put this book down and neither could my husband when he read it. Doxiadis' narrative style is strong. The book unfolds much as a solving a mathematical problem would. Uncle Petros emerges as a tragic figure, victim of classical hubris but earning our sympathy. An excellent read by a talented writer.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down! Mishka M Mourani
Review: I couldn't put this book down and neither could my husband when he read it. Doxiadis' narrative style is strong. The book unfolds much as a solving a mathematical problem would. Uncle Petros emerges as a tragic figure, victim of classical hubris but earning our sympathy. An excellent read by a talented writer.
Rating:
Summary: This is not a book just for mathematicians
Review: I must admit, I thought for a while that Petros Papachristos, the protagonist in this novel, was a real person. How could I help it? Apostolos Doxiadis manages to infuse him with life - his obsession becomes our obsession. The story is not filled with mathematical esoterica - just enough to make the whole thing credible. I hope that the author has other "family members" who can serve as characters for his next novel - I think he will have a tough time topping this one.
Rating:
Summary: fun read for the mathematicallly curious
Review: I picked up this book after watching the movie A Beautiful Mind -- it's a delightful, easy-to-read novel about an aspiring mathemetician who tries to get to know the truth about his eccentric mathemetician uncle. The book details the uncle's life-long struggle to solve Goldbach's Conjecture, which (for you non-mathemeticians, like me) posits that every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes. I felt like the novel showed a somewhat realistic perspective of a driven, obsessed scientist, and showed how the scientist's activities and behaviors affected and even alienated those around him. The protagonist is the only member of the mathemetician's family who bothers to get to know and appreciate him -- and that is a struggle, as the mathemetician often does things to alienate his nephew. Don't be put off by the math; it's actuallyq quite easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: The obsession called mathematics
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down for even a moment. The books is the story of "two generations of obsession", the one is Uncle Petros' quest (more literally an obsession) for the solution to a mathematical problem, the other his nephew's search for the truth about his elusive uncle his family derides for having thrown away his life. What makes mathematicians tick, what drives them, their obsessions etc?. Uncle Petros' obsession "Goldbach's conjecture" is but a passing reference. The book is fun, and Uncle Petros' meetings with Caratheodory,Hardy,Littlewood,Ramanujam,Godel and Alan Turing make interesting reading. I was reminded about Andrew Wiles' assault on Fermat's last theorem (Simon Singh's book on Fermat's last theorem is strongly recommended!) Why did Uncle Petros squander away his whole life on Goldbach's conjecture?. Why did he eventually give up (or did he?) and why did he persuade his nephew to stay away from math?. This book should provide you with some partial answers.
|
