The Abel Prize was established in 2002 by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. It has been awarded annually to mathematicians in recognition of pioneering scientific achievements.
Since the first occasion in 2003, Martin Raussen and Christian Skau have had the opportunity to conduct extensive interviews with the laureates. The interviews were broadcast by Norwegian television; moreover, they have appeared in the membership journals of several mathematical societies.
The interviews from the period 2003 – 2016 have now been collected in this edition. They highlight the mathematical achievements of the laureates in a historical perspective and they try to unravel the way in which the world’s most famous mathematicians conceive and judge their results, how they collaborate with peers and students, and how they perceive the importance of mathematics for society.
Keywords: Abel prize, laureates, interviews, history of mathematics, appreciation of mathematics