Malba Tahan is the alter ego of Júlio César de Mello e Souza, a celebrated Brazilian mathematician looking for a way to bring some of the mysteries and pleasures of mathematics to a wider public. Tahan’s publication The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures (1938) presents the adventures of Beremiz Samir, who takes the reader on “a journey in which, time and again, Samir summons his extraordinary mathematical powers to settle disputes, give wise advice, overcome dangerous enemies, and win for himself fame, fortune, and rich rewards.”

In 2021, Editora Record published the book’s 100th edition as O Homem que Calculava. The design uses Le Murmure and Vampiro for title and author, with their Arabic counterparts set in Noto Naskh Arabic and Reem Kufi. The edition notification is set in Impetus, and blurb and text are set in Warnock.