good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

Don't be scared by Maths - embrace this intriguing guide, 13 Jun 2008
On finding this book as similar to things that I had previously read- I felt it was right up my street with regard to my interests and the suchlike- combining some of my favourite topics. I was not to be dissapointed, an interesting story, combining personal anecdotes about how even the most clever person cannot second guess the power of the stock market makes this an unmissable read for anyone interested in the world around them.

After the slightly slow start and repetitive moments at times- this book really gets started and moves into full swing. Easy explainations for those with no previous knowledge and references for those with makes it great for all levels. Whilst I felt I may have heard some of this before I could not put it down and it left me wanting to know more about the world around me.

very misleading blurb, 09 Jul 2007
This is a very poor book. Its not clear who the intended audience was meant to be. Its too basic for any market particpant and the explanation of market statsitics is not clear enough for any lay investors. The rest of the text is a confusing explanation of why the autor invested and then stayed invested in Worldcom and lost money. Its difficult to relate the quotes from the press to this book. If it was meant to be amusing then it missed by a mile.

Clever and interesting, 19 Jun 2005
This book seems to have dissappointed a few reviewers; I suspect that some expected a conclusion that helped them play the markets and others, a sophisticated algorithim to explain market behaviour. The book offers neither but is interesting and fun to read which is no mean feat when the subject matter is a rather dry topic.

There are many books about the stock market but few that I enjoyed as much.

I also recommend Richard Thaler on Behavioural Finance, Taleb on Hedging and Dot Con on the Internet bubble. Christopher Fildes is always worth a read too.

Weak and scattered, 30 May 2005
I was lured into this book by the well-written cover blurb, but sadly that was the best thing about the book. It promises to be an examination of the mathematics of markets, but the analysis is absurdly shallow. Paulos devotes pages to such topics as compound interest, which is presumably well understood by most school children - he never gets much deeper.
The book is actually reasonably entertaining, with some interesting little mathematical paradoxes and anecdotes, but overall it is poorly written and unfocused. At one point Paulos essentially admits he wrote the book to try and recoup his losses on the market. The feeling that the author is dashing off the book to make money is hard to shake.
The book might be a good introduction for someone completely new to the stock market, however, the extremely shallow treatment will frustrate anyone looking for more.

A Mathematician Plays the Market, 02 Nov 2004
A complete waste of my time and money. The best thing about this book are its title and back cover. Those pushed me to buy it, but just about every page in between has nothing to do with what the book is supposed to be about.
The book and the back cover lead you to believe that this is a book about a mathematician that, obviously, uses complicated mathematical models (chaos theory, neural networks, nonlinear differential equations passed through my mind) to invest in the market. No such luck, Joe. This is the story of a guy that bought ONE (yes, one!!!) stock and lost his shirt on it. And wait, he didn't buy it because of the signal provided by any mathematical model. He did it, over and over, for all the same silly reasons that many investors bought technology stocks in the late '90s. The guy makes every possible silly mistake you can imagine. But the mistakes are so silly you can't even learn from them.
And one more thing. Even about that one stock, don't expect to learn anything about. My rough guess is that the book discusses this stock purchase in less than one page out of each 20. The silly story is told at the very beginning, and the stock is mentioned in a paragraph here and another there, but the book is not at all about that. Really, it was very disappointing. This guy discussing things that have to do with finance (and that are probably marginally interesting for completely unaware readers) but not at all about "playing the market," let alone with mathematical models. I didn't buy this book so this guy could explain to me the benefits of diversification, or how to calculate the risk of a two-stock portfolio. And yet, he discusses that and many similar issues, which have nothing to do with the topic of the book.
In short, stay way clear from this book. The issues discussed in it, are much better covered in many other books. And the issues it is supposed to discuss, it simply doesn't.

good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

Don't be scared by Maths - embrace this intriguing guide, 13 Jun 2008
On finding this book as similar to things that I had previously read- I felt it was right up my street with regard to my interests and the suchlike- combining some of my favourite topics. I was not to be dissapointed, an interesting story, combining personal anecdotes about how even the most clever person cannot second guess the power of the stock market makes this an unmissable read for anyone interested in the world around them.

After the slightly slow start and repetitive moments at times- this book really gets started and moves into full swing. Easy explainations for those with no previous knowledge and references for those with makes it great for all levels. Whilst I felt I may have heard some of this before I could not put it down and it left me wanting to know more about the world around me.

very misleading blurb, 09 Jul 2007
This is a very poor book. Its not clear who the intended audience was meant to be. Its too basic for any market particpant and the explanation of market statsitics is not clear enough for any lay investors. The rest of the text is a confusing explanation of why the autor invested and then stayed invested in Worldcom and lost money. Its difficult to relate the quotes from the press to this book. If it was meant to be amusing then it missed by a mile.

Clever and interesting, 19 Jun 2005
This book seems to have dissappointed a few reviewers; I suspect that some expected a conclusion that helped them play the markets and others, a sophisticated algorithim to explain market behaviour. The book offers neither but is interesting and fun to read which is no mean feat when the subject matter is a rather dry topic.

There are many books about the stock market but few that I enjoyed as much.

I also recommend Richard Thaler on Behavioural Finance, Taleb on Hedging and Dot Con on the Internet bubble. Christopher Fildes is always worth a read too.

Weak and scattered, 30 May 2005
I was lured into this book by the well-written cover blurb, but sadly that was the best thing about the book. It promises to be an examination of the mathematics of markets, but the analysis is absurdly shallow. Paulos devotes pages to such topics as compound interest, which is presumably well understood by most school children - he never gets much deeper.
The book is actually reasonably entertaining, with some interesting little mathematical paradoxes and anecdotes, but overall it is poorly written and unfocused. At one point Paulos essentially admits he wrote the book to try and recoup his losses on the market. The feeling that the author is dashing off the book to make money is hard to shake.
The book might be a good introduction for someone completely new to the stock market, however, the extremely shallow treatment will frustrate anyone looking for more.

A Mathematician Plays the Market, 02 Nov 2004
A complete waste of my time and money. The best thing about this book are its title and back cover. Those pushed me to buy it, but just about every page in between has nothing to do with what the book is supposed to be about.
The book and the back cover lead you to believe that this is a book about a mathematician that, obviously, uses complicated mathematical models (chaos theory, neural networks, nonlinear differential equations passed through my mind) to invest in the market. No such luck, Joe. This is the story of a guy that bought ONE (yes, one!!!) stock and lost his shirt on it. And wait, he didn't buy it because of the signal provided by any mathematical model. He did it, over and over, for all the same silly reasons that many investors bought technology stocks in the late '90s. The guy makes every possible silly mistake you can imagine. But the mistakes are so silly you can't even learn from them.
And one more thing. Even about that one stock, don't expect to learn anything about. My rough guess is that the book discusses this stock purchase in less than one page out of each 20. The silly story is told at the very beginning, and the stock is mentioned in a paragraph here and another there, but the book is not at all about that. Really, it was very disappointing. This guy discussing things that have to do with finance (and that are probably marginally interesting for completely unaware readers) but not at all about "playing the market," let alone with mathematical models. I didn't buy this book so this guy could explain to me the benefits of diversification, or how to calculate the risk of a two-stock portfolio. And yet, he discusses that and many similar issues, which have nothing to do with the topic of the book.
In short, stay way clear from this book. The issues discussed in it, are much better covered in many other books. And the issues it is supposed to discuss, it simply doesn't.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON ADOPTION FROM CHINA, 16 May 2006
My daughter, in Australia, is just nearing the end of the long road to motherhood with the imminent adoption of their little girl from China... with love! I bought this book to read myself, then send to her and her husband. I have finished it and can't bear to part with it, so have bought another copy to send to them. It is a very honest and heartwarming biography of the adoption of two little girls. It gives an insight to the country - and having being to China a number of times myself, I know this to be a very true picture. If you, or someone you know, is adopting from China.... do buy this book!

Tears and laughter!, 09 Nov 2005
This was a book I could totally identify with...having left the baby-having to others( literally...I am a midwife), it has been devastating to discover that I am infertile...with no obvious medical reason. Emily Buchanan gives a frank and honest account of the creation of her own family in an engaging and highly readable manner. I am starting out on the "long road" to motherhood and this book provided an inspiring read, some valuable information and a very enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!

A must read!, 07 Jul 2005
Anyone who has started or about to start the process of adopting from China should read this book, then pass on to family and friends. Although everyone will have a different journey in their quest to adopt, the similarities of the 'roller coaster'ride will have you laughing and crying! Honestly and poignantly written.

Excellent book on UK / China adoption emotions and process, 02 Jun 2005
Emily's book is excellent and gives the story of the long roller coaster journey to becoming a parent through adoption from China.

My wife, my daughter from China and I can certainly relate the story. Emily writes fantastically about many of the emotions and experiences we have gone through.

Well done

good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

Don't be scared by Maths - embrace this intriguing guide, 13 Jun 2008
On finding this book as similar to things that I had previously read- I felt it was right up my street with regard to my interests and the suchlike- combining some of my favourite topics. I was not to be dissapointed, an interesting story, combining personal anecdotes about how even the most clever person cannot second guess the power of the stock market makes this an unmissable read for anyone interested in the world around them.

After the slightly slow start and repetitive moments at times- this book really gets started and moves into full swing. Easy explainations for those with no previous knowledge and references for those with makes it great for all levels. Whilst I felt I may have heard some of this before I could not put it down and it left me wanting to know more about the world around me.

very misleading blurb, 09 Jul 2007
This is a very poor book. Its not clear who the intended audience was meant to be. Its too basic for any market particpant and the explanation of market statsitics is not clear enough for any lay investors. The rest of the text is a confusing explanation of why the autor invested and then stayed invested in Worldcom and lost money. Its difficult to relate the quotes from the press to this book. If it was meant to be amusing then it missed by a mile.

Clever and interesting, 19 Jun 2005
This book seems to have dissappointed a few reviewers; I suspect that some expected a conclusion that helped them play the markets and others, a sophisticated algorithim to explain market behaviour. The book offers neither but is interesting and fun to read which is no mean feat when the subject matter is a rather dry topic.

There are many books about the stock market but few that I enjoyed as much.

I also recommend Richard Thaler on Behavioural Finance, Taleb on Hedging and Dot Con on the Internet bubble. Christopher Fildes is always worth a read too.

Weak and scattered, 30 May 2005
I was lured into this book by the well-written cover blurb, but sadly that was the best thing about the book. It promises to be an examination of the mathematics of markets, but the analysis is absurdly shallow. Paulos devotes pages to such topics as compound interest, which is presumably well understood by most school children - he never gets much deeper.
The book is actually reasonably entertaining, with some interesting little mathematical paradoxes and anecdotes, but overall it is poorly written and unfocused. At one point Paulos essentially admits he wrote the book to try and recoup his losses on the market. The feeling that the author is dashing off the book to make money is hard to shake.
The book might be a good introduction for someone completely new to the stock market, however, the extremely shallow treatment will frustrate anyone looking for more.

A Mathematician Plays the Market, 02 Nov 2004
A complete waste of my time and money. The best thing about this book are its title and back cover. Those pushed me to buy it, but just about every page in between has nothing to do with what the book is supposed to be about.
The book and the back cover lead you to believe that this is a book about a mathematician that, obviously, uses complicated mathematical models (chaos theory, neural networks, nonlinear differential equations passed through my mind) to invest in the market. No such luck, Joe. This is the story of a guy that bought ONE (yes, one!!!) stock and lost his shirt on it. And wait, he didn't buy it because of the signal provided by any mathematical model. He did it, over and over, for all the same silly reasons that many investors bought technology stocks in the late '90s. The guy makes every possible silly mistake you can imagine. But the mistakes are so silly you can't even learn from them.
And one more thing. Even about that one stock, don't expect to learn anything about. My rough guess is that the book discusses this stock purchase in less than one page out of each 20. The silly story is told at the very beginning, and the stock is mentioned in a paragraph here and another there, but the book is not at all about that. Really, it was very disappointing. This guy discussing things that have to do with finance (and that are probably marginally interesting for completely unaware readers) but not at all about "playing the market," let alone with mathematical models. I didn't buy this book so this guy could explain to me the benefits of diversification, or how to calculate the risk of a two-stock portfolio. And yet, he discusses that and many similar issues, which have nothing to do with the topic of the book.
In short, stay way clear from this book. The issues discussed in it, are much better covered in many other books. And the issues it is supposed to discuss, it simply doesn't.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON ADOPTION FROM CHINA, 16 May 2006
My daughter, in Australia, is just nearing the end of the long road to motherhood with the imminent adoption of their little girl from China... with love! I bought this book to read myself, then send to her and her husband. I have finished it and can't bear to part with it, so have bought another copy to send to them. It is a very honest and heartwarming biography of the adoption of two little girls. It gives an insight to the country - and having being to China a number of times myself, I know this to be a very true picture. If you, or someone you know, is adopting from China.... do buy this book!

Tears and laughter!, 09 Nov 2005
This was a book I could totally identify with...having left the baby-having to others( literally...I am a midwife), it has been devastating to discover that I am infertile...with no obvious medical reason. Emily Buchanan gives a frank and honest account of the creation of her own family in an engaging and highly readable manner. I am starting out on the "long road" to motherhood and this book provided an inspiring read, some valuable information and a very enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!

A must read!, 07 Jul 2005
Anyone who has started or about to start the process of adopting from China should read this book, then pass on to family and friends. Although everyone will have a different journey in their quest to adopt, the similarities of the 'roller coaster'ride will have you laughing and crying! Honestly and poignantly written.

Excellent book on UK / China adoption emotions and process, 02 Jun 2005
Emily's book is excellent and gives the story of the long roller coaster journey to becoming a parent through adoption from China.

My wife, my daughter from China and I can certainly relate the story. Emily writes fantastically about many of the emotions and experiences we have gone through.

Well done

Dull, dull, dull, 24 Jul 2008
I cannot recommend this book and am astonished by the number of four and five star reviews.

This is the autobiography of a rather dull and uninteresting person (sorry Emanuel).

The brief synopsis follows: Went to university, didn't socialize, stayed in bedroom. Went to Goldman Sachs, worked hard, still no friends. Moved to another bank but no one liked me and couldn't hack it so went back to Goldmans. Then I quit. Told a joke once about condoms. Wasn't funny.

Please! You worked in an Investment bank! I would have expected some anecdotes about colourful characters. I could have writen a more interesting autobiography just by looking at the guys on my desk. Have a look at Liar's Poker for how it should have been done.

I cannot understand the large number of four and five star reviews given to this book. Madness!

VEry good read but...., 23 Jul 2008
I really enjoyed this book and thought highly of the author.

Note, this book will appeal mostly to people with "geek" tendencies

If you like physics (or engineering) or finance then you would enjoy it.

If you are looking for an in depth insight into the man "Emmanual Derman", then you would be in for a disppointment

Accept it for it's title "My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance" and it would come highly recommended




O The Temptation... , 12 Mar 2008
I began a career as a Quant a decade or so ago, but skipped careers and am now doing a PhD in computer music. But reading this book brought it all back to me! I suddenly felt the urge to write papers on finance... Emanuel Derman just has such a great writing style. His discussion of Physics (another interest of mine) and Quants was a pleasure to read. This book was like a long cool drink on a hot day. What also makes it pleasurable is the personal elements he injects into the story - you see what things mean to him, you see the non-linearity and uncertainty in his life.

I would class this as more reflections on Finance, with interesting observations about Physics. But overall I would just class it as a great read.

For Hardcore Only, 31 Dec 2007
If your interests have ever included Physics and Finance, and if you've ever thought there was something "deeper, more meaningful" to be found in studying physics, then read this book. You will not be disappointed. If not, then don't.

A Great Read, 27 Feb 2007
This book would be of great interest to financial engineers. Emanuel Derman, an expert quant trained as a theoretical physicist, compares and contrasts the disparate worlds of Science and Finance. In simple terms he explains what Quantitative Finance is about. He covers the motivations for quantitative models and introduces the current state of the art. Perhaps more importantly, Derman illuminates the human factor in each of the two worlds and introduces the reader to some of their most inspirational characters, including Tsung-Dao Lee and Fisher Black.

good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

Don't be scared by Maths - embrace this intriguing guide, 13 Jun 2008
On finding this book as similar to things that I had previously read- I felt it was right up my street with regard to my interests and the suchlike- combining some of my favourite topics. I was not to be dissapointed, an interesting story, combining personal anecdotes about how even the most clever person cannot second guess the power of the stock market makes this an unmissable read for anyone interested in the world around them.

After the slightly slow start and repetitive moments at times- this book really gets started and moves into full swing. Easy explainations for those with no previous knowledge and references for those with makes it great for all levels. Whilst I felt I may have heard some of this before I could not put it down and it left me wanting to know more about the world around me.

very misleading blurb, 09 Jul 2007
This is a very poor book. Its not clear who the intended audience was meant to be. Its too basic for any market particpant and the explanation of market statsitics is not clear enough for any lay investors. The rest of the text is a confusing explanation of why the autor invested and then stayed invested in Worldcom and lost money. Its difficult to relate the quotes from the press to this book. If it was meant to be amusing then it missed by a mile.

Clever and interesting, 19 Jun 2005
This book seems to have dissappointed a few reviewers; I suspect that some expected a conclusion that helped them play the markets and others, a sophisticated algorithim to explain market behaviour. The book offers neither but is interesting and fun to read which is no mean feat when the subject matter is a rather dry topic.

There are many books about the stock market but few that I enjoyed as much.

I also recommend Richard Thaler on Behavioural Finance, Taleb on Hedging and Dot Con on the Internet bubble. Christopher Fildes is always worth a read too.

Weak and scattered, 30 May 2005
I was lured into this book by the well-written cover blurb, but sadly that was the best thing about the book. It promises to be an examination of the mathematics of markets, but the analysis is absurdly shallow. Paulos devotes pages to such topics as compound interest, which is presumably well understood by most school children - he never gets much deeper.
The book is actually reasonably entertaining, with some interesting little mathematical paradoxes and anecdotes, but overall it is poorly written and unfocused. At one point Paulos essentially admits he wrote the book to try and recoup his losses on the market. The feeling that the author is dashing off the book to make money is hard to shake.
The book might be a good introduction for someone completely new to the stock market, however, the extremely shallow treatment will frustrate anyone looking for more.

A Mathematician Plays the Market, 02 Nov 2004
A complete waste of my time and money. The best thing about this book are its title and back cover. Those pushed me to buy it, but just about every page in between has nothing to do with what the book is supposed to be about.
The book and the back cover lead you to believe that this is a book about a mathematician that, obviously, uses complicated mathematical models (chaos theory, neural networks, nonlinear differential equations passed through my mind) to invest in the market. No such luck, Joe. This is the story of a guy that bought ONE (yes, one!!!) stock and lost his shirt on it. And wait, he didn't buy it because of the signal provided by any mathematical model. He did it, over and over, for all the same silly reasons that many investors bought technology stocks in the late '90s. The guy makes every possible silly mistake you can imagine. But the mistakes are so silly you can't even learn from them.
And one more thing. Even about that one stock, don't expect to learn anything about. My rough guess is that the book discusses this stock purchase in less than one page out of each 20. The silly story is told at the very beginning, and the stock is mentioned in a paragraph here and another there, but the book is not at all about that. Really, it was very disappointing. This guy discussing things that have to do with finance (and that are probably marginally interesting for completely unaware readers) but not at all about "playing the market," let alone with mathematical models. I didn't buy this book so this guy could explain to me the benefits of diversification, or how to calculate the risk of a two-stock portfolio. And yet, he discusses that and many similar issues, which have nothing to do with the topic of the book.
In short, stay way clear from this book. The issues discussed in it, are much better covered in many other books. And the issues it is supposed to discuss, it simply doesn't.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON ADOPTION FROM CHINA, 16 May 2006
My daughter, in Australia, is just nearing the end of the long road to motherhood with the imminent adoption of their little girl from China... with love! I bought this book to read myself, then send to her and her husband. I have finished it and can't bear to part with it, so have bought another copy to send to them. It is a very honest and heartwarming biography of the adoption of two little girls. It gives an insight to the country - and having being to China a number of times myself, I know this to be a very true picture. If you, or someone you know, is adopting from China.... do buy this book!

Tears and laughter!, 09 Nov 2005
This was a book I could totally identify with...having left the baby-having to others( literally...I am a midwife), it has been devastating to discover that I am infertile...with no obvious medical reason. Emily Buchanan gives a frank and honest account of the creation of her own family in an engaging and highly readable manner. I am starting out on the "long road" to motherhood and this book provided an inspiring read, some valuable information and a very enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!

A must read!, 07 Jul 2005
Anyone who has started or about to start the process of adopting from China should read this book, then pass on to family and friends. Although everyone will have a different journey in their quest to adopt, the similarities of the 'roller coaster'ride will have you laughing and crying! Honestly and poignantly written.

Excellent book on UK / China adoption emotions and process, 02 Jun 2005
Emily's book is excellent and gives the story of the long roller coaster journey to becoming a parent through adoption from China.

My wife, my daughter from China and I can certainly relate the story. Emily writes fantastically about many of the emotions and experiences we have gone through.

Well done

Dull, dull, dull, 24 Jul 2008
I cannot recommend this book and am astonished by the number of four and five star reviews.

This is the autobiography of a rather dull and uninteresting person (sorry Emanuel).

The brief synopsis follows: Went to university, didn't socialize, stayed in bedroom. Went to Goldman Sachs, worked hard, still no friends. Moved to another bank but no one liked me and couldn't hack it so went back to Goldmans. Then I quit. Told a joke once about condoms. Wasn't funny.

Please! You worked in an Investment bank! I would have expected some anecdotes about colourful characters. I could have writen a more interesting autobiography just by looking at the guys on my desk. Have a look at Liar's Poker for how it should have been done.

I cannot understand the large number of four and five star reviews given to this book. Madness!

VEry good read but...., 23 Jul 2008
I really enjoyed this book and thought highly of the author.

Note, this book will appeal mostly to people with "geek" tendencies

If you like physics (or engineering) or finance then you would enjoy it.

If you are looking for an in depth insight into the man "Emmanual Derman", then you would be in for a disppointment

Accept it for it's title "My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance" and it would come highly recommended




O The Temptation... , 12 Mar 2008
I began a career as a Quant a decade or so ago, but skipped careers and am now doing a PhD in computer music. But reading this book brought it all back to me! I suddenly felt the urge to write papers on finance... Emanuel Derman just has such a great writing style. His discussion of Physics (another interest of mine) and Quants was a pleasure to read. This book was like a long cool drink on a hot day. What also makes it pleasurable is the personal elements he injects into the story - you see what things mean to him, you see the non-linearity and uncertainty in his life.

I would class this as more reflections on Finance, with interesting observations about Physics. But overall I would just class it as a great read.

For Hardcore Only, 31 Dec 2007
If your interests have ever included Physics and Finance, and if you've ever thought there was something "deeper, more meaningful" to be found in studying physics, then read this book. You will not be disappointed. If not, then don't.

A Great Read, 27 Feb 2007
This book would be of great interest to financial engineers. Emanuel Derman, an expert quant trained as a theoretical physicist, compares and contrasts the disparate worlds of Science and Finance. In simple terms he explains what Quantitative Finance is about. He covers the motivations for quantitative models and introduces the current state of the art. Perhaps more importantly, Derman illuminates the human factor in each of the two worlds and introduces the reader to some of their most inspirational characters, including Tsung-Dao Lee and Fisher Black.

Economist's Bio Tells a Larger Story, 29 Nov 2005
Author Perry Mehrling’s excellent book is not merely a biography of Fischer Black, but also the story of the main threads of economic thought during the late twentieth century. More than that, it is the story of the economics profession, and of the great role that politics and personality plays in the acceptance of ideas. It is astonishing to learn how ruthlessly the profession excluded Black’s ideas, although he was one of the most incisive economic and financial thinkers of his time, and it is inspiring to see how relentlessly and quixotically Fischer Black continued to press them. The parts of the book that are generally accessible are also fascinating. Unfortunately, far too little of the volume is accessible to the average business reader. Mehrling does a less than adequate job of explaining the great themes of Black’s life and thought to lay readers. He notes the importance of the Capital Asset Pricing Model in Black’s philosophy, but his account of the model will leave noneconomists scratching their heads. The same must be said of his account of other economic subjects. While we find that only readers with a fairly deep understanding of economics can reap this book’s full harvest, that caveat should not deter the general reader from gleaning.

The first quant, 20 Sep 2005
This book is one of the most entertaining finance books I have read in a long time. The author presents Fischer Black, whose name is quite familiar to anyone in finance, from a personal perspective. His journey through life, his ups and downs are fascinating to read. Black's significant contributions to finance are all the more remarkable after having read the background to their development. Perry Mehrling's writing style is factual but entertaining. He manages to endear a very complex character to us as well as showing in detail Black's motivation and passion for ground-breaking new thought.

This book is a must for everybody who has an interest in finance or has studied or worked with Black's models. Really the only drawback about this book is that virtually all of the main players in the book have either received a Nobel prize or deserve to. Quite humbling for the rest of us!

good read, 14 Jul 2007
Well written and interesting biography. As well as ancedotes on Paul
Erdos also contained interesting background on a number of classic
problems. Particularly enjoyed the dicussion on the Car-Goat problem which I have to confess I have used to heat up a few boring places from time to time.


Buy it, but don't pay full price..., 28 Nov 2005
Hoffman writes well, and Erdos is a fascinating subject - or would be if Hoffman had stuck to the subject. Too much time is spent on general maths history and the lives of peripheral characters (perhaps a reflection of Hoffman's role as publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica). However, his biggest miscalculation comes in Chapter 4, when he writes: "...Never mind what regular primes are; the definition is too complex...". The author then goes on to assert that mathematicians should not necessarily try to explain maths to the layman. Well, who is this book for then, Paul? The maths is too simple for the expert, and clearly too tough for me. You are in danger of alienating everyone; you certainly annoyed me. Perhaps Hoffman should re-read Simon Singh's explanation of the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture written for the layman in 'Fermat's Last Theorem' (available at Amazon). Buy 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers' by all means; it will certainly whet the appetite for Erdos. But, as I said, don't pay full price for it.

The man who loved only numbers, 19 Oct 2005
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of the late Paul Erdös. Erdos was one of the most brilliant and prolific pure mathematicians of the 20th century, and yet had little need of the everyday things that most of us take for granted. Erdos was perfectly happy to travel the word visiting, often unannounced, other mathematicians to work with. He worked for around 19 hours a day on mathematics and yet had no job, home, wife or hobbies: he never learnt to cook or drive a car and died a virgin.

Whilst a proportion of the book deals with Erdös' eccentricities, it is apparent that he was a very generous man, he gave all the money he made away to charity, who was well liked by the mathematicians he 'imposed himself' on, often arriving unannounced declaring simply that 'my brain is open'

Throughout the book, Hoffman goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The timeline of Erdös' life is also followed in a somewhat haphazard manner, but to me this reflects the life of man who, fuelled by coffee and amphetamines, could hold several mathematical conversations at the same time.

Hoffman strays off the main subject of the book on many occasions. There are, for instance, long discussions of the foundations of mathematics, of Fermat's Last Theorem and Wiles' eventual solution, of the Monty Hall Problem, and of Cantor's set theory. And whilst these topics may have little or nothing to do with Erdös, they are dealt with in a manner which makes them accessible to majority of people - they certainly do not require a maths degree to make sense of them. Many other reviewers have highlighted this as a downfall of the book and yet, for me, these are the sort of problems that might ignite some passion about the subject that Erdös devoted his whole life to.

Oversimplified, confused and inaccurate, 06 Jan 2005
I knew Paul Erdos since I was a small child. I consider that this book, and, even more, the blurb about it, misrepresent him quite seriously. According to the book, Hoffman met Erdos only once; and his portrayal of him in the book is simultaneously oversimplified, confused and inaccurate. I am giving the book two stars rather than one, because at least it is better and more accurate than the blurb about it.
Erdos is portrayed as narrowly obsessed with mathematics, to the point of almost being a freak. He is described in the blurb as having none of the normal interests in sex, companionship, art or even food. While I don't usually describe the personal characterstics of my friends and acquaintances in a public review, Erdos has for some reason become so much of a topic for public discussion that I feel that I should respond to some of the wilder remarks. It is true that Erdos was celibate, but he had a very great liking for companionship, and friendships were important to him..
He disliked being alone, and mostly managed to avoid being alone. He had a very large number of friends, to whom he was very warm and caring and extremely generous. Yes, he could be a tiring guest, but he gave far more than he ever took, and far more than most people ever do. He gave absolutely unstintingly of his time, mathematical ideas, money (whenever he had any) and influence (whenever he had any). He always made very special efforts not only to visit and help his friends when ill or in difficulties, but to do the same with the friends and relations of his friends. Not all his friends were mathematicians. Notably, he was extremely fond of children. He carried out his desire for companionship into his professional life, where he carried out a great deal of his work in collaboration with others, and had more collaborators than any other scientist of whom I have ever heard. As regards food, he had a great appreciation of good food, and would for example, sometimes reciprocate his hosts by taking them to good restaurants. While he did not have a special interest in art, he was very fond of nature, and also had strong interests in languages, history and politics. He was certainly not a "Man Who Loved Only Numbers". He was indeed obsessed with mathematics; but this was his least unusual characteristic. Many people pursue interests and careers obsessively; Erdos differed from others in being infinitely more creative and successful in his chosen pursuit than most others; in the extent to which he combined this obsession with an intelligent interest in other subjects; and in pursuing creative mathematics into old age.
The book and the blurb about it, also make me uneasy in my professional capacity as a developmental and cognitive psychologist who studies individual differences in cognition. While few people are as outstandingly talented in any direction as Erdos in mathematics, many people - a far larger number than had at one time been thought - are uneven in their abilities. It is both scientifically inaccurate, and a potential source of distress to the individuals concerned, to assume that such unevennesses are solely a matter of attention and focus. Thus, the implication that Erdos' physical clumsiness and difficulties with certain practical activities were due solely to a narrow focus on mathematics is both unfair to Erdos personally and a disservice to the many less eminent people who are physically clumsy or have other specific cognitive or motor difficulties.
If anyone is interested in reading a good biography of Erdos, I would strongly recommend them to read Schecter's "My Brain Is Open" - much better than this book.

A Rambling Good Read, 25 Apr 2004
This book intertwines the life story of Paul Erdos along with many other characters from the world of mathematics and the problems which occupied them.
It's nominally a biography but goes off into all sorts of tangents into mathematical problems, history, science and other people's life stories. The thread of the book also has a tendency to jump rather haphazardly between different periods of it's protagonist's life. The overall effect is one of a rambling but entertaining read through most of 20th century mathematics which involved Paul Erdos in some way.
Erdos was a classic eccentric whose whole life was spent, almost to the exclusion of everything else, in the pursuit of mathematical truth through formal proofs. Like most true eccentrics, everything else (including basic life skills) came a poor second to the object of his fixation. But again, as a true eccentric, he mostly lived a happy and contented life as long as he could carry out his work. To "normal" people, though, many of the details of his life seem bizarre!
There are some interesting mathematical problems discussed in the book in simple lay terms, as well as an extensive bibliography for thoseinterested in following up specific areas of interest.

Don't be scared by Maths - embrace this intriguing guide, 13 Jun 2008
On finding this book as similar to things that I had previously read- I felt it was right up my street with regard to my interests and the suchlike- combining some of my favourite topics. I was not to be dissapointed, an interesting story, combining personal anecdotes about how even the most clever person cannot second guess the power of the stock market makes this an unmissable read for anyone interested in the world around them.

After the slightly slow start and repetitive moments at times- this book really gets started and moves into full swing. Easy explainations for those with no previous knowledge and references for those with makes it great for all levels. Whilst I felt I may have heard some of this before I could not put it down and it left me wanting to know more about the world around me.

very misleading blurb, 09 Jul 2007
This is a very poor book. Its not clear who the intended audience was meant to be. Its too basic for any market particpant and the explanation of market statsitics is not clear enough for any lay investors. The rest of the text is a confusing explanation of why the autor invested and then stayed invested in Worldcom and lost money. Its difficult to relate the quotes from the press to this book. If it was meant to be amusing then it missed by a mile.

Clever and interesting, 19 Jun 2005
This book seems to have dissappointed a few reviewers; I suspect that some expected a conclusion that helped them play the markets and others, a sophisticated algorithim to explain market behaviour. The book offers neither but is interesting and fun to read which is no mean feat when the subject matter is a rather dry topic.

There are many books about the stock market but few that I enjoyed as much.

I also recommend Richard Thaler on Behavioural Finance, Taleb on Hedging and Dot Con on the Internet bubble. Christopher Fildes is always worth a read too.

Weak and scattered, 30 May 2005
I was lured into this book by the well-written cover blurb, but sadly that was the best thing about the book. It promises to be an examination of the mathematics of markets, but the analysis is absurdly shallow. Paulos devotes pages to such topics as compound interest, which is presumably well understood by most school children - he never gets much deeper.
The book is actually reasonably entertaining, with some interesting little mathematical paradoxes and anecdotes, but overall it is poorly written and unfocused. At one point Paulos essentially admits he wrote the book to try and recoup his losses on the market. The feeling that the author is dashing off the book to make money is hard to shake.
The book might be a good introduction for someone completely new to the stock market, however, the extremely shallow treatment will frustrate anyone looking for more.

A Mathematician Plays the Market, 02 Nov 2004
A complete waste of my time and money. The best thing about this book are its title and back cover. Those pushed me to buy it, but just about every page in between has nothing to do with what the book is supposed to be about.
The book and the back cover lead you to believe that this is a book about a mathematician that, obviously, uses complicated mathematical models (chaos theory, neural networks, nonlinear differential equations passed through my mind) to invest in the market. No such luck, Joe. This is the story of a guy that bought ONE (yes, one!!!) stock and lost his shirt on it. And wait, he didn't buy it because of the signal provided by any mathematical model. He did it, over and over, for all the same silly reasons that many investors bought technology stocks in the late '90s. The guy makes every possible silly mistake you can imagine. But the mistakes are so silly you can't even learn from them.
And one more thing. Even about that one stock, don't expect to learn anything about. My rough guess is that the book discusses this stock purchase in less than one page out of each 20. The silly story is told at the very beginning, and the stock is mentioned in a paragraph here and another there, but the book is not at all about that. Really, it was very disappointing. This guy discussing things that have to do with finance (and that are probably marginally interesting for completely unaware readers) but not at all about "playing the market," let alone with mathematical models. I didn't buy this book so this guy could explain to me the benefits of diversification, or how to calculate the risk of a two-stock portfolio. And yet, he discusses that and many similar issues, which have nothing to do with the topic of the book.
In short, stay way clear from this book. The issues discussed in it, are much better covered in many other books. And the issues it is supposed to discuss, it simply doesn't.

AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON ADOPTION FROM CHINA, 16 May 2006
My daughter, in Australia, is just nearing the end of the long road to motherhood with the imminent adoption of their little girl from China... with love! I bought this book to read myself, then send to her and her husband. I have finished it and can't bear to part with it, so have bought another copy to send to them. It is a very honest and heartwarming biography of the adoption of two little girls. It gives an insight to the country - and having being to China a number of times myself, I know this to be a very true picture. If you, or someone you know, is adopting from China.... do buy this book!

Tears and laughter!, 09 Nov 2005
This was a book I could totally identify with...having left the baby-having to others( literally...I am a midwife), it has been devastating to discover that I am infertile...with no obvious medical reason. Emily Buchanan gives a frank and honest account of the creation of her own family in an engaging and highly readable manner. I am starting out on the "long road" to motherhood and this book provided an inspiring read, some valuable information and a very enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. Enjoy!

A must read!, 07 Jul 2005
Anyone who has started or about to start the process of adopting from China should read this b