Siobhan Roberts

This very well researched biography of Donald Coxeter was an enjoyable enough read but, unfortunately, felt a little too unstructured for my tastes. Coxeter's life is recounted essentially chronological but within each phase of his life the exposition of his work jumps all over the place. The copious footnotes only partially prevent the book zooming off on too many tangents (no pun intended).

Criticisms aside, I would say that this biography successfully did the one thing I think all show more biographies of artists, writers, or scientists should do, and that is make the reader want to track down the work of the subject. In this sense, Roberts' presentation was great as I ordered a copy of Coxeter's "Regular Polytopes" before I had even made it halfway through her book. show less

This is a portrait of a mathematician, but one who was also a polymath among other characteristics. While he was born in Liverpool, Conway made his name in the environs of Cambridge and Princeton. Reading this book was like a science lesson, but one that was more enjoyable than most I've ever experienced.

Sizable and fascinating biography of the Cambridge/Princeton mathematician (group theorist and much else) best known to part of the general public for the Game of Life and the system of surreal numbers. The highly creative Conway (1937-) is also, evidently, highly disorganized. Roberts, who previously wrote a bio of Toronto geometer HSM Coxeter, agreeably structures her portrait of Conway around the years-long process she went through to gather the material, which includes lots of commentary show more from the subject himself. show less

The book spends a lot of time on people with connections to Coxeter. At times, these connections can be slight. As a result of this, the actual developments in Coxeter's life appear to take on a secondary role.

Nonetheless, the book gives a fascinating portrait of a fascinating mathematician. It made me want to seek out some of Coxeter's work!