The Impossible Man

In 1937, Roger Penrose and his father discovered a sundial in a clearing behind their house in Colchester. In that machine made of light, shadow and time, six-year-old Roger discovered a 'world behind the world' of transcendently beautiful geometry. He had begun a journey that would make him one of the past century's most influential mathematicians, philosophers and physicists.



He received a Nobel Prize, a knighthood and dozens of other prestigious honours. He proved the limitations of general relativity and set a new agenda for theoretical physics.



But success came at a price as he struggled to connect with friends, family and especially the women in his life. He has spent his final years alone with his research, intentionally cut off from the people who loved him.



Compelling and deeply moving, The Impossible Man intimately depicts the relationship between Penrose the scientist and Roger the human being. It reveals the tragic cost - to himself and those closest to him - for his extraordinary life.



Patchen Barss is a Toronto-based science journalist who has contributed to the BBC, Nautilus Magazine, Scientific American, and the Discovery Channel (Canada), as well as to many science and natural history museums. His previous books include The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google, and Flow Spin Grow: Looking for Patterns in Nature.



Patchen Barss uses the skills of a fine novelist to tell the story of one of the true giants of 20th century mathematics and physics, Roger Penrose, in a biography that reveals the complex and compelling character of the man alongside the importance of his contributions to geometry, relativity, and a wide range of other fields. The biography that Penrose deserves.