Based on a National Magazine Award-winning article, this masterful biography of Hungarian-born Paul Erdos is both a vivid portrait of an eccentric genius. A man who possessed unimaginable powers of thought yet was unable to perform the simplest daily tasks, Erdos dedicated his life to the pursuit of mathematical truth. Here, award-winning science writer Paul Hoffman follows the career and achievements of this philosopher-scientist whose way of life was as inconceivable as the theorems he devised, yet whose accomplishments continue to enrich and inform the world.