When We Cease to Understand the World

Calling all science, math, and history nerds-- this is your book, but with a disclaimer.
You may or may not enjoy the liberties the author takes with the circumstances he imagines may have surrounded men who were obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Whether or not you are disturbed by Labatut's descriptions of their academic compulsions, the threads that connect the people in this book are fascinating. Even if you don't admire the way Labutut fictionalizes the background of the geniuses in When We Cease to Understand the World, you can at least admire his gutsy attempt to do so.