Despite the mysterious origin of its individual elements, mathematics is not born in a vacuum: it is created by people. Some of these people demonstrate amazing originality and clarity of mind. It is to them that we owe great breakthrough discoveries; it is they who we call pioneers, pioneers, and significant figures in mathematics. Ian Stewart describes the discoveries and reveals to us the fates of 25 of the greatest mathematicians in history - from Archimedes to William Thurston. Each of these incredible people from different parts of the world made decisive contributions to the development of their field of mathematics. These lively stories, each individually fascinating, add up to a fascinating history of the development of mathematics.