About the book: 2001 / N. Wiener’s book about mathematicians and mathematics is well known here in Russia and abroad as one of the best works of the popular mathematical genre. For the first time, the full text of the translation is presented without cuts (which were in the previous edition). At the same time, our publishing house publishes a translation of N. Wiener’s earlier book “Former Prodigy.” The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers - both professional mathematicians and beginners..