My Non Mathematical Biography: A memoir of a scientist

Vitali Milman, a world-renowned mathematician who was selected in 2018 by the Milner Global Foundation and the Marker magazine as one of the 70 most influential scientists in Israel, shares his unique and extraordinary journey in the world.In his concise style, Professor Milman describes his remarkable life path, which spans on six decades of accomplished academic career. He recounts the ups and downs, the hardships and the fantastic strokes of luck which saved his life many times. The narrative focuses on the emotional impact the historical and personal events had on Milman's life and the way they affected his personality and development.Born in Odessa, the former USSR, his childhood was shadowed by the horrors of WW2, his youth by anti-Semitism and the terrors of the Stalin regime. A few chapters are depicting this time, providing a unique personal account of the state of mind of this dark era.He recounts the family’s struggle to get a permission to leave Russia from a secret scientific city, the immigration to Israel, the trials of his first steps as new immigrant in Israel, and his participation in the Lebanon war, where he served in the front line.As Prof. Milman tells of his battle of an immigrant to the top of the world of mathematics, he portrays numerous famous figures of this discipline; scientists, lecturers and brilliant students he met along his way.This memoire provides a fascinating glance on the world by a mathematician, as well as a rare portrayal of a few eras in the history of the Russian Jewish people via the personal narrative of an immigrant scientist.Read more