“PROBLEMS worthy of attack prove their worth by fighting back.” Anyone doubting the truth of this aphorism should read Donal O’Shea’s account of a problem left to the world by the French genius Henri Poincaré. His famous conjecture fought back for almost a century, swallowing large chunks of careers and ending up with a million-dollar bounty on its head. Amazingly, the apparent victor seems reluctant to claim any glory. O’Shea’s approach is more narrative than technical, but he conveys the gist of topology’s mind-bending contortions with great flair.
The Poincaré Conjecture
Allen Lane/Walker Books
