A book about science that is unlike any other, about a scientist like whom there has never been in history. A milestone in popular science.

From the crypt of the neglected, Michael Brooks "revives" Girolamo Cardano, an unlikely inventor, mathematician, physician, and astrologer, a unique figure from 16th century Milan. But who is Cardano?

This stubborn, "otherworldly" man - son of a lawyer and a brothel owner - managed to turn his mathematical acumen as well as his knowledge of medicine and astrology into money.

This eccentric and unparalleled Renaissance personality invented the mathematics of probability (in order to win at games of chance) and - almost unintentionally - conceived of imaginary numbers, thus earning the historic title of founder of the mathematical pillars of modern quantum physics.

Cardano's life is the "heart" of this captivating and eccentrically intelligent book, whose style is completely original, while the blending of history, fiction, and science makes it more enchanting than any other reading.

Michael Brooks utilizes the theory of entanglement to explain how he found himself in Cardano's prison cell, what Cardano told him about his book, how he presented to him the development of quantum physics, and what he heard from the lips of his dying hero about his toxic life, the blows of fate, and his unfulfilled desires.