The Great Math War. How Three Brilliant Minds Fought for the Foundations of Mathematics

Translation from English, scientifically edited by Artem Smirnov. — Moscow: Gaidar Institute Press, 2026. — 464 p.

By the end of the 19th century, mathematicians were celebrating a century of triumphs hat-surprisingly-made clear how little they actually knew. What is the nature of infinity? Is mathematics free from self-contradiction? And what does mathematics have to do with reality? This was the of the Foundations Crisis in mathematics.

In The Great Math War, Jason Socrates Bardi tells the story of three competing attempts by mathematicians to resolve it – and the firefight that ensued. Bertrand Russell thought we could achieve certainty if we treated math as an extension of logic. David Hilbert believed redemption lay in accepting mathematics as a formal game of arbitrary rules, no different from the moves and pieces in chess. And L. E. J. Brouwer argued math is entirely rooted in human intuition-and that math is not based on logic but rather logic is based on math. It was a bitter struggle, intellectually and personally, as the three vied to set the course for mathematics in the twentieth century.

It was a fierce battle – both intellectual and personal – in which three geniuses vied for the right to shape the course of science in the 20th century. Set against the backdrop of international warfare unfolding alongside it, The Great Math War brings the Foundational Crisis to radiant life-and shows how it indelibly shaped twentieth-century intellectual life.