The Impossible Man

“a moving and intimate portrait of a figure who has expanded our understanding of the universe… This biography depicts Sir Roger in multiple dimensions; only a writer as psychologically astute as Barss could show us an impossible man in full.” 

"Patchen Barss’s absorbing biography, 'The Impossible Man,' is not a voyeuristic freak show. Mr. Barss, a science journalist, has a higher purpose: to help us better understand 'how science happens, where creative inspiration comes from, and who contributes and sacrifices to make works of genius possible.' On all three counts, he succeeds."

"A fascinating biography...beautifully composed and revealing. ... Barss, in addition to adeptly explaining complex concepts such as the singularity theorem, makes skillful and sensitive use of Penrose’s archive, plus interviews with Penrose himself (who did not have copy approval) and surviving friends, family and colleagues."

“A penetrating, warts and all biography of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose… Barss’s sensitive handling of Penrose’s tumultuous personal life puts this a notch above other ‘great minds’ biographies… a haunting portrait of a brilliant scientist unwilling to confront his personal shortcomings.”

"Superb insights into a flawed genius."

“The Impossible Man is a primer to the Penrose understanding of the cosmos, and a remarkable study of the lengths one man has gone to avoid understanding himself.” 

“One day in 1965, Roger Penrose is crossing a London street and suddenly his imagination is working in four dimensions. The result is an insight that transforms Einstein’s relativity theorem. Patchen Barss writes lyrically about this scientific quest, but he also explores the frail human side of Penrose’s journey. The result is a page-turner reminiscent of James Gleick’s Genius, the bestselling biography of Richard Feynman. The Impossible Man is a stunning achievement.”

“Barss uses the skills of a fine novelist to tell the story of one of the true giants of twentieth-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.”

“Phenomenal: blisteringly candid, elegiac, and utterly compelling, The Impossible Man strips away the myths to expose the frailties and foibles of a mathematical genius who inspired generations. A new landmark of scientific biography.”

“A cosmic romance, at once intimate and grand. The Impossible Man is charming and gripping, edifying and soulful, a lot like Roger Penrose himself.”