From the reviews:“One of the best ways to understand Ramanujan and his mathematics is to study his life and work in comparison to other outstanding mathematicians in history whose lives and works have things in common with Ramanujan. Some of them, like Ramanujan, underwent great difficulties in life but, undeterred by these obstacles, produced work of the highest quality. After providing an evaluation of Ramanujan and discussing the possible impact of his work in the years following his centenary, there is a collection of essays on 13 mathematical luminaries that provides a comparative study. These essays are really the heart of the book…. As [George] Andrews writes in his Foreword: “Alladi, who has worked in several areas of number theory and analysis, and who, as the editor of The Ramanujan Journal, is uniquely qualified to write these historical sketches which provide an unusual and compelling view of Ramanujan.” The book is an enlightening study of Ramanujan as a mathematician and as a human being and will appeal to mathematicians, students and the general public interested in mathematics.”—Themistocles M. Rassias, EMS Newsletter March 2013“It is in fact a great book to go swimming in. Alladi has put together a sweeping compendium of essays on Ramanujan … . It is a wonderful book to browse through, and before you know it, you’ll have read it all. … All in all, this book is clearly entirely irresistible. Get a copy for yourself. … You can’t miss.” (Michael Berg, MAA Reviews, January, 2013)“It is a unique book and can be read effortlessly even by non-mathematicians. Each article can be read separately. … strongly recommends this book to each and every one irrespective of their area of work and interest and also to school teachers and students. To sum up, it is an excellent book, highly enjoyable and easily readable.” (Girish Kumar Ramaiah, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1257, 2013)