CLOUDS ARE NOT SPHERES: A PORTRAIT OF BENOIT MANDELBROT, THE FOUNDING FATHER OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY

The time is right, following Benoît Mandelbrot's death in 2010, to publish this landmark book about the life and work of this maverick math genius.

This compact book celebrates the life and achievements of Benoît Mandelbrot with the ideas of fractals presented in a way that can be understood by the interested lay-person. Mathematics is largely avoided. Instead, Mandelbrot's ideas and insights are described using a combination of intuition and pictures. The early part of the book is largely biographical, but it portrays well how Mandelbrot's life and ideas developed and led to the fractal notions that are surveyed in the latter parts of the book.

Readership: Aimed at a general inquisitively-minded readership. It will appeal to those seeking to understand fractal geometry in particular and mathematics in general. The book will appeal to readers of all ages. It will not be technically difficult or demand a deep understanding of mathematics. It will find a wide readership as a popular science book as well as appealing to academics, who like to read about the lives, struggles and achievements of their fellow scientists. The book is written for a very broad audience with minimal scientific or mathematical background. It may interest those who have come across fractals or the Mandelbrot set in some context and who want to find out more about what fractals are and about their progenitor.