The Great Math War

“The Great Math War offers a vivid and entertaining window into the crucible from which modern maths emerged. And for those who know the maths already, the book offers something rarer: a richly human story of how great ideas survive, collide and ultimately triumph.”–Nature“The Great Math War” does something most popular math books don’t; it situates mathematics in the context of the people doing the mathematics – and the lives they were living outside the profession… Bardi writes with huge enthusiasm and a distinctive style.” –New York Times Book Review“The Great Math War reads like one long, revelatory conversation with a brilliant friend, as Jason Bardi leads us through the story of how the greatest minds of the modern age slugged it out over the foundations of mathematics and so reality, against a background of passion, ambition, treachery and war.”–Edward Wilson-Lee, author of The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books“Is Bardi’s The Great Math War a history of early 20th century mathematics, or a cultural history of the early 20th century, or an intellectual biography of three brilliant minds - David Hilbert, Bertie Russell, and L. E. J. Brouwer? Similarly to a fairy tale, Bardi’s book operates on multiple levels and will be an inspiration to a wide range of readers. You will see the early 20th century in a new way - zaniness, aesthetic innovation, and utopic vision suffused it, painted so wonderfully by Bardi. Although this world brims with books, and while this is a well-researched chapter in the history of mathematics and in culture at large, Bardi’s book is a gem. It surprises, is beautifully written, and enlivens difficult and even odd material in a ‘show don’t tell’ manner. Sit down comfortably and get ready for a lovely and entertaining intellectual and historical ride.” –Rasmus Winther, University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Copenhagen“Bardi’s The Great Math War provides a fascinating romp through one of the most consequential conflicts of the early 20th century, fought, not on the battlefield but within the ivory tower of mathematical theory. Its outcome helped to shape our world.”–Johnjoe McFadden, author of Life on the Edge

Jason Socrates Bardi is an award-winning journalist in DC who has written two books about the history of math: The Calculus Wars and The Fifth Postulate. He has published hundreds of articles about modern science and medicine in outlets including the San Francisco Chronicle, Good Morning America, US News & World Report, and The Lancet. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.