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A review by sritchie
When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought by Jim Holt
3.0
I thought that this book would be so up my alley; I've been on a reading kick of modern math and mathematical history, and what better clickbait than a picture of two studs, Einstein and Gödel, walking around Princeton?
Not much about these essays stuck in my mind. The themes of the book were interesting, but the interleaving of very light mathematical detail with stories of the personalities involved just did not mix into anything gripping.
I'd recommend skipping this and picking up either of the two Quanta Magazine books:
[b:The Prime Number Conspiracy: The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta|39644283|The Prime Number Conspiracy The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta|Thomas Lin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533018816l/39644283._SX50_.jpg|61216269], or
[b:Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire: The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta|39644282|Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta|Thomas Lin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533038306l/39644282._SX50_.jpg|61216268].
Not much about these essays stuck in my mind. The themes of the book were interesting, but the interleaving of very light mathematical detail with stories of the personalities involved just did not mix into anything gripping.
I'd recommend skipping this and picking up either of the two Quanta Magazine books:
[b:The Prime Number Conspiracy: The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta|39644283|The Prime Number Conspiracy The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta|Thomas Lin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533018816l/39644283._SX50_.jpg|61216269], or
[b:Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire: The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta|39644282|Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta|Thomas Lin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533038306l/39644282._SX50_.jpg|61216268].