"A fast-paced and dramatic telling of the history of mathematics that is ultimately concerned with convincing us why we should care . . . Conceptualizing the real-world application of abstract mathematics is every professor's dream for their students, and Padilla makes it a reality." –Amy Brady, Scientific American
"[An] electrifying debut . . . [Padilla is] a stellar guide, shifting from playful to serious with ease, and his love for his subject is infectious and his knowledge vast in a way that is fitting for the material. This one deserves wide readership." –
Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A fascinating book that guides us through the labyrinth of numbers and what they mean . . . [A] lively history . . . Padilla has a knack for effectively deconstructing difficult concepts . . . Like James Gleick's
Chaos and Stephen Hawking's
A Brief History of Time, [
Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them] is a remarkable piece of work . . . Astonishing in its sweep and depth, this book offers a unique way of looking at the universe." –
Kirkus Reviews "It was said of the famous Indian mathematician Ramanujan that he knew every number as his personal friend. If you'd like to get to know some of the most charismatic of these characters then Antonio Padilla has written a beautiful Who's Who of the world of numbers and their role in the make-up of our universe." –
Marcus du Sautoy, author of Thinking Better "This is an extraordinary book. Tony Padilla has been able to weave a remarkable set of mathematical facts into a mesmerising story that kept me gripped throughout. He has an intensity and passion that I haven't seen for a long time in popular science." –
Pedro G. Ferreira, author of The Perfect Theory "This delightful book purports to be about numbers, but is really a window onto the astonishing scope and scale of the universe in which we live. You will be amazed at the mind-bending ideas science has proposed in order to grasp reality, and be impressed that our minds are able to bend that far." –
Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime