About this title: This biography analyzes how Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash's eccentric personality helped him to develop revolutionary mathematical processes, and chronicles the transformation of this prolific eccentricity into a 30-year bout of paranoid schizophrenia and eventual recovery in 1990. Nasar provides insights into this illness and its ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Reprint.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780684853703ISBN:0684853701
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 464 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Great copy. Totally clean & unmarked inside & out. Very slight wear. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780684853703ISBN:0684853701
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. trade pb, sb4, minor shelf/edge wear. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 464 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780684853703ISBN:0684853701
Description: Good. Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"As usual, I found the book better than the movie. Nasar does a great job of portraying a complicated man, even though I must admit that I still don't really understand precisely what Nobel prize deserving achievements were, or what impact they have had on the world of math-- probably cuz I skimmed very casually over the math stuff. What really came through for me as I read the book was the extraordinary devotion of John Nash's wife, Alicia. She stands by her man through all of Nash's psychotic episodes, recoveries and setbacks. It's really heartbreaking that her only child with Nash, a son, suffers from the same condition as his father, and Alicia bears the brunt even later into her life of supporting him. Nash and his wife are both elderly now, and I think they both really love each other."
"For some reason, the options didn't offer the cover of this book that I actually have. Instead they offer one from the movie, which is unfortunate since the book and the movie have little in common outside of names, places and a thread of mental illness. While I really enjoy the movie, this true story is more compelling and doesn't offer the closure you might expect. I think if you want to know the actual story of John Nash, this is definitely the way to go. I would recommend it to folks who'd like to try a biography of what has been an unconventional life with the highs and lows but not the clear cut resolution."
"I just finished the book today, but it took me a while to read it. With personal issues and the like, it took me about a month to read this book. It is rather long, but still.
So I thought this book was quite good. Biographies are one of my favorite (probably second favorite) types of books, and usually I'll read about a famous dead person. I am in love with all fascinating people. But the first thing about this book that I liked is that the person is STILL ALIVE. That's right, I said it; in this world of boredeom, an astoinding lack of individualism, and anti-depressants, there's actually an interesting person still living. His name is John F. Nash Jr, and he's the man that this book is based off of.
By reading the jacket of the book you learn that John Nash was (is) a mathematical genius. He is arrogant, prideful, and always in the look for recoginiton. He climbs the ladder of the mathematical ladder of the world, but finds, at the top, Schizophrenia. This book is largely put into three categories: Pre-disorder, Disorder, and Recovery.
I was bored within the first 100 pages of the book. Like I said, he was a brilliant mathematician, even at an early age, so the first part of the book likes to talk a lot of math. And I, frankly, don't like math. So I'm not going to like the first part of the book, and if you don't like math, niether will you.
The second part, the Disorder, is why I picked up the book. In my psychology class we watched a movie based on this book, and I really liked it because it really emphasized the disease. But let me tell you now: If you've ever watched the movie, read the book. The movie tells a story of John seeing, like, 3 specific hallucinations throughout his life. That's not how it went at all. It was so much more complex with that....
But I'm rambiling. I loved the second part, and the third part was heart-warming. I very much enjoyed this book (most of it) and if it had been a book about, say, an English major I would say it was perfect."
"Though it was a bit slow in places (which is probably to be expected given John Nash's career in mathematics), I really enjoyed reading A Beautiful Mind. I'm interested in history and mental illness and, lately, I have become absolutely fascinated by some of the history of mathematical geniuses, as they tend to be quite a rather unique bunch. I saw the movie version of the book when it was released several years ago, and while I don't remember much about it other than I liked it, I'm pretty sure the movie was extremely sugarcoated. This was a raw, real account that is somehow simultaneously joyous and tragic.
One of the things I am coming to appreciate most in a biography is when the author resists painting a one-dimensional, rosy picture of the subject. Even the best people are imperfect and I resent when all the subject's flaws are just glossed over as though they never existed. The author did a fabulous job here in painting the entire picture of the great man; a man that is not perfect and, in many ways, an extremely difficult person to deal with. Nash was an incredibly complex man and his genius was both a gift and a curse. He didn't get along well with people, he was arrogant at times, lacking in social skills and struggled with his sexuality. Rather than coming off as unlikable, though, I was rooting for him and I finished the book with a deep appreciation for the man and his legacy, which, I should add, I don't completely understand as I am not a part of the mathematics world. And that was another aspect of the book I appreciated - I don't think it is necessary to be a part of the mathematics world - or even have a deep appreciation for it - to enjoy the book. I'm more interested in the way the brain works and in psychological illnesses than I am math, but on the other hand, I am close to several deeply mathematical-minded people and that may make reading about it more interesting to me.
The book was, as I mentioned, very slow in some places and I would have appreciated reading more about his illness than all the great detail about his mathematical achievements, but I suppose that I can't complain about it because I knew what I was getting into. I just feel that it could have been more interesting if more attention were paid to other details. I ended up skimming some of the last chapters on the history and procedures of the Nobel. I just didn't find any of that very interesting, and, again, the time and detail could have been better spent on other aspects, in my opinion.
I'm on the fence about giving the book 3 or 4 stars. 3 seems unnecessarily harsh, but because it was slow in the beginning and a bit slow in a few chapters toward the end, I can't really give it a 4. This is another instance where I wish GoodReads would implement half-stars in the rating system.
I'd recommend this book to those interested in history, mathematics, biographies of geniuses, and those deeply interested in not only mental illness but also how the brain works in many different ways. I do know that some may find it boring. Even something with the slightest hint of math can be a turn-off for some folks. So, while I would recommend, I'd also add the caveat that one understands that it is not merely about his schizophrenia but his life as a mathematical genius in general."
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