Ramanujan was most certainly the most talented mathematician of this century. With essentially no formal training, he managed to discover an enormous number of formulas, many of which were quite different from those previously known. The story of how he came to the attention of the mathematical community and was brought into "formal" mathematical circles is an interesting one. Given the colonial nature of the relationship between England and India, it would have been "natural" for the English mathematicians to consider an untrained colonial native to be beneath them. However, to their credit, there is no evidence that the English mathematicians ever felt or acted this way.
This book is the story of Ramanujan told through the letters that were written by and about him. While many are very formal, you still see the personalities emerging. G.H. Hardy is at times in awe of Ramanujan's ability, proving to be a person of high quality as he tries as best he can to aid him in adapting to British society and to doing mathematics in a formal way. Many others are also involved, and it is clear that they do have a genuine interest in his welfare as a person and as a mathematician. The commentary included among the letters is very helpful in establishing a context for the text. The authors do a very good job in explaining the circumstances of the letters. Some deal with social conditions and others are as simple as a description of what a word means.
What is most impressive about the book is that there is no undercurrent of colonial class consciousness running through the material in the letters. Given the situation in the early part of the twentieth century, that would have been typical of most English men of the times and it is a tribute to the mathematicians that they avoided it. Not many others would have been so noble.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Being an avid Rankin reader, I was a bit disappointed about this follow-up to the excellent original. Armageddon II contains the trademark humour of all Rankin books, but has a poorly-planned, confused plot and an ending which ultimately makes the entire tome pointless. Worth a read but if you are new to Rankin "Sprout Mask Replica", the original Armageddon or even "Nostradamus Ate My Hamster" would be better to begin with.

A note to all Hugo Rune fans: If you didn't know, he plays an active role in "The Book of Ultimate Truths". Read that NOW!

The continuing adventures of Rex Mundi, Elvis and Barry the Time Sprout amongst others, which surpasses even the original which was hysterical. This is the funniest book of its type since The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The best parts of the book are the introductions to each chapter which seem to be totally unrelated to the story but gain more relevance as the book goes on; the best one with the two wildly differing accounts of Hugo Rune turning himself invisible. A must read if you like that sort of thing.

This was one of the wittiest, and most comical books I have ever read. It made me laugh continuously from beginning to end. Much in the vein of Douglas Adams, and Terry Pratchett. Make sure to pick up the other two books in the series.