Patchen Barss—The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius by Patchen Barss showing a black and white photo of Roger Penrose in front of a blackboard with drawings and computations. The title and authors names appear in lime and turquoise letters.
THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN:
ROGER PENROSE AND THE COST OF GENIUS
Patchen Barss
Basic Books, November 12, 2024
Atlantic Books, November 14, 2024
Hardback: $32.00, eBook: $19.99, Audio CD: $35.99
Hardback ISBN-13: 978-1541603660
eBook ASIN: B0CW18MD5W
Audio Book ASIN: B0DHMS818V

Barss reports:

My introduction to the work of Roger Penrose began with his “recreational mathematics.” I knew the Penrose Triangle, an iconic optical illusion immortalized by Dutch lithographer M. C. Escher. I was fascinated with Penrose Tiles, whose simple shapes combine into infinitely varying patterns. Conceptually and aesthetically, his creations were breathtaking.

As a science journalist I came to know his major scientific work on singularities, cosmology, and other major areas of theoretical physics. His science embodied the same originality and beauty as his puzzles and games.

When I spoke to other scientists about Penrose, they expressed awe and admiration: even in the competitive, ego-rich world of elite physics, people stopped to marvel and wonder, “How did Penrose do it?”

Portrait photo of Patchen Barss
That was the question I set out to answer in The Impossible Man. I began work in 2018, interviewing, researching, trying to pinpoint the people, events, and internal flashes of inspiration that led to the Penrose Singularity Theorem, Penrose Diagrams, twistor theory, conformal cyclic cosmology, and many other insights and contributions. The resulting narrative is more complicated, emotional, and deeply rooted in the humanity of Penrose and the people around him than I anticipated.

I was far into the project before I signed with a publisher. In 2020, Penrose won the Nobel Prize in Physics, which increased public interest in his life and work. In 2021, I began a year-long fellowship at the Leon Levy Center for Biography at CUNY, during which I started working with a new agent, Robin Straus. Robin found the book two perfect homes: at Basic Books in New York and Atlantic Books in London.

Writing a book (especially during a pandemic) can be isolating. In the six years I was writing, I sometimes let myself get too cut off from the outside world. I was lucky to reforge connections to friends and colleagues through the Leon Levy fellowship, and also through writers’ organizations, including NASW and Biographers International. Other writers might find their community another way. Bottom line, though, having access to likeminded, sympathetic colleagues is crucial for an author’s craft, business, and general wellbeing.

Contact info:

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

View Advance Copy archives at https://www.nasw.org/member-article/advance-copy.

Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.

View the recording of an Advance Copy Virtual Business Chat, A Primer for Authors on Book Publicity. NASW member login required.

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View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Editing Committee How to Break into Editing. NASW member login required.

View the recording of a recent Virtual Skills Chat presented by NASW’s Freelance Committee Using Generative A.I. as Writers and Editors. NASW member login required.

Send book info and questions about book publishing to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Follow @LynneLamberg and @lynnelamberg.bsky.social for news about NASW authors, science/medical books, and writing.

Banner image adapted from original photo by Patchen Barss.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.


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