In the tradition ofA Beautiful Mind, here is an engaging biography of a world-famous Canadian geometry genius, Donald Coxeter, whose work has slowly and steadily become the air we breathe, with everyday applications in telecommunication and e-commerce, among other fields.

King of Infinite Spacecombines two bestselling categories, popular science and biography. It makes geometry accessible through the fascinating life of the 20th century’s greatest classical geometer — a man who also happens to be a Canadian. Coxeter’s story weaves together several rich and surprising threads, from the idiosyncratic nature of his personal life to the geopolitical fabric of his times — what he calls the wild wicked world — and illuminates the importance of mathematics therein. Indeed, Coxeter is credited with saving classical geometry from near extinction: for over fifty years, he fought a quiet war of attrition against disdain for his unfashionable geometry, stoically retaining his passion for the beauty of shapes.