The Man Who Loved Only Numbers:

The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth

By Paul Hoffman

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My Brain is Open: The Mathematical Journeys of Paul Erdos

By Bruce Schechter

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Most mathematicians are not "interesting" enough to be the subjects of biographies. Paul Erdos is an exception. I've read about a a few physicists and inventors, but this was my first time reading about the life of a mathematician. Paul Erdos authored or co-authored over 1,500 papers with 500 colleagues during his brilliant mathematical career. He literally lived his long life as an itinerant mathematician, depending on his wide base of friends and colleagues for support. These two biographies are each enjoyable accounts of the Paul Erdos' life. There are a few differences between them.

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is less tightly focused and includes information about other figures in Erdos' life and mathematical world. It included anecdotes about such figures as Kurt Godel and Srinivasa Ramanujar (among others), of whom I had heard but about whom I knew very little. It also includes a great many details about Erdos' memorable spirit. As passionate as Erdos was about mathematics, he loved a great deal more than numbers alone. Hoffman impressed me by showing how much Erdos cared about his fellow humans, especially children and the destitute.

On the other hand, My Brain is Open shorter and more concise. It limits itself to topics traditionally addressed in biographies. Unfortunately, I find it impossible to really get to know Paul Erdos without also getting to know the mathematical and social world in which he existed. Details over which Schechter gracefully glided are the very details which distinguished Erdos from the mathematical mainstream (if there is indeed any such thing). However, I must admit that Schechter came up with a more honest title than did Hoffman.

If you have time, I recommend both biographies. However, if you're only going to read one, make it Hoffman's.