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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

At the height of the Unabomber's reign of terror, the security guards at internationally acclaimed author Clifford A. Pickover's IBM research lab were worried. When they approached Pickover and told him that he was a possible target for one of the Unabomber's infamous parcels, he agreed to let them x-ray each of his packages as they arrived. Then, suddenly, he received a flash - of inspiration. Why not write a book about legendary geniuses with a penchant for bizarre behavior? In that moment, STRANGE BRAINS AND GENIUS was born.

In STRANGE BRAINS AND GENIUS: The Secret Lives of Eccentric Scientists and Madmen, Pickover proves for all time that the old stereotype about scientists being a little nuts is only the tip of the iceberg! In this wild trip into the private lives of some of the biggest names in science and technology, you'll get up close and personal with some of the weirdest people who have ever walked the earth: Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber; Nikola Tesla; Howard Hughes; even Vincent Van Gogh. You'll meet the professor who could do advanced math in his head, but couldn't write a personal check... the electrical genius whose preoccupation with birds is the stuff of legend... and the aerospace wizard whose ice cream obsession once kept an entire company in business just to satisfy his desire for Grape-Nut. But through all the craziness, a light shines through. Pickover asks us, is being nuts always such a bad thing, after all?

As in his other popular books, including THE LOOM OF GOD, CHAOS IN WONDERLAND and MAZES FOR THE MIND, Pickover continues to forge a career on the fun side of science. But for all the heart-stopping weirdness and side-splitting antics his wacky cast of characters exhibits, there's plenty of seriousness. Pickover explores the mysterious connection between obsessive-compulsive disorder and greatness. He looks at the similarities between great geniuses and the rest of us, to prove that despite all outward appearances, we may not be so different after all. And he explores the eerie world of Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber - one of the worid's most gifted mathematicians - to see where a visionary thinker may have snapped and turned into a cold-blooded serial kitten.

Juicy with gossip, studded with celebrities from the wild and crazy world of science, and imbued with the "question everything" mentality that characterizes everything Clifford A. Pickover puts his mind to, STRANGE BRAINS AND GENIUS is a zany excursion through an area filled with the most unexpected kinds of entertainment.

To say that Clifford A. Pickover is a renaissance man would not be an exaggeration.
His previous books on science and computers have received critical acclaim in periodicals around the world, including the WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES and SCIENTlFIC AMERICAN. Pickover also edits several scientific journals and writes the Brain Bogglers column in DISCOVER MAGAZINE. One of the world's most renowned computer artists, also adept at jazz piano and Shaolin Kung Fu, Pickover resides just out-side of New York City. He has no eccentricities other than the faintest trace of a sly grin.

(Extracted from the dust jacket)

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-Preface.

-Acknowledgments.

-Introduction.

-Profiles.

-1. The Pigeon Man from Manhattan.
-2. The Worm Man from Devonshire.
-3. The Rabit-Eater from Lichfield.
-4. The Fly Man from Galway.
-5. The Rat Man from London.
-6. The Mutton Man from London.
-7. The Sprained Brain from Birmingham.