Oscar Zariski s work in mathematics permanently altered the foundations of algebraic geometry. The powerful tools he forged from the ideas of modern algebra allowed him to penetrate classical problems with an unaccustomed depth, and brought new rigor to the intuitive proofs of the Italian School. The students he trained at Hopkins, and later at Harvard, are among the foremost mathematicians of our time.

While what he called his real life is recorded in almost a hundred books and papers, this story of his unreal life is based upon Parikh s interviews with his family, colleagues, and...