Budiansky opens up the history of a time where great progress was achieved in foundations of mathematics against the backdrop of the Second World War. This is an easily accessible account for those who did not have the chance to meet Kurt Godel in person...For the generations that possibly enjoy the t-shirt version of Godel's work, I would hope that the variety of his work would spark more diversified Godel merchandise * Annika Kanckos, Metascience *
It would be easy to fall into the trap of repeating somewhat exaggerated anecdotes and to ridicule the leading character of this biography. Therefore, it is a pleasure to read a book on the life of Godel that does all but that. The book offers a serious and unapologetic account of Godel's life ... The new take on the topics is refreshing and brings the past to life through a coherent narrative. * Annika Kanckos, Metascience *
Selected as a 2021 Book of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement
wonderfully engrossing * Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker *
Budiansky, for all his tremendous efforts and exhaustive interrogations of Godel's times and places, acquaintances and offices, can only leave us, at the end, with an immeasurably enriched version of Godel the wise child. It's an undeniably distracting and reductive picture. But - and this is the trouble - it's not wrong. * Simon Ings, Spectator *
Journey to the Edge of Reason covers [Godel's life and work] engagingly and clearly, which is quite a feat given the difficulty of the material. The author... also manages successfully to convey Godel's naivety, eccentricity and paranoia as well as his genius. * Nick Spencer, Financial Times *
In this excellent new biography, Stephen Budiansky introduces the reader to Godel's stunning achievements in logic, illuminates his devastating mental illness and considers how the two might be related. * Cheryl Misak, Times Literary Supplement *
An engaging read, both on a personal and professional level. * David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer *
One of the great geniuses of the 20th century, barely known outside the academy today, receives a much-needed expert biographical treatment ... An outstanding biography of a man of incomprehensible brilliance. * Kirkus reviews *
Journey to the Edge of Reason is an intimate and haunting portrait of one of the most elusive gods on Princeton's Mt. Olympus. A triumph of research and a wonderful read. * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind *
Kurt Godel's mathematical results on incompleteness and undecidable propositions leave it up to us, as individuals, to choose whether to mourn these limits to the power of formal systems, or celebrate his proof that even the most rigid numerical bureaucracy contains the tools by which higher truth will always be able to effect an escape. Stephen Budianksy's Journey to the Edge of Reason expertly and humanely frames these results between Godel's childhood under the dark shadow of the Austrian and Nazi bureaucracies, his escape to America, his descent into physical and mental illness, and his achievement of a reconciliation between spiritual faith and scientific proof. * George Dyson, author of Analogia and Turing's Cathedral *
A painstakingly researched and lucidly presented biographyDLa close-up of one of the most influential and enigmatic thinkers of the twentieth centuryDLfull of vivid detail and sharp historical insight. * Karl Sigmund, professor of mathematics, University of Vienna, and author of Exact Thinking in Demented Times *
A brilliant biography of one of the most original thinkers of all time, Journey to the Edge of Reason is as deep and precise as the genius it describes. In a paradox befitting Godel himself, it takes a tale of logic and its limits and finds, at its heart, something strangely soulful and sympathetic. * Steven Strogatz, professor of mathematics, Cornell University, and author ofInfinite Powers *
Prepare yourself for a great adventure and fascinating book that can be picked up at ease and read at pace..Budiansky provides a gripping and interesting dialogue fitting the great story of this fascinating figure...an excellent book. * Kenny Green, Mathematics Today *