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June 2022 Vol. 59 No. 10

Frame has written a wonderful memoir. Combining his passion for mathematics and his mastery of the geometry of fractals, in this text he seeks to educate, encourage, and inspire readers in a personal way. Identifying grief as irreversible, Frame makes surprising connections to foundational mathematical concepts such as continuity and self-similarity. Notable for his association at Yale University with Benoit Mandelbrot, with whom he coedited Fractals, Graphics, and Mathematics Education, CH, Feb'03, 40-3547, Frame has elsewhere published perhaps his ultimate mathematical work, Fractal Worlds, coauthored with Amelia Urry (CH, Nov'16, 54-1252). Here, he elucidates the foundational intertwining of science and grief in his own life through deeply and surprisingly personal stories from lived experience. Weaving together references from literature, art, popular culture, and mathematics, Frame clarifies the transcendence found through grief as a universal human experience. The text offers a wealth of resources for curious readers and is a must have for the bookshelf of any mathematics teacher who wants to inspire curiosity in students or relate with empathy to a student suffering loss. This book will be a wonderful addition to any advanced or graduate-level seminar, and preprofessionals in mathematics education will certainly benefit from exploring the book's diverse fields of discourse.

--R. M. Fischer, Montana State University

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers.