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A Beautiful Mind

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About this listen

This is the powerful, dramatic biography of math genius John Nash, who overcame serious mental illness and schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. This book is the inspiration for the Academy Award-winning film starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly and directed by Ron Howard.

“How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” the visitor from Harvard asked the West Virginian with the movie-star looks and Olympian manner. “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did,” came the answer. “So I took them seriously.”

Thus begins the true story of John Nash, the mathematical genius, who was already a legend by age thirty, when he slipped into madness, and who—thanks to the selflessness of a beautiful woman and the loyalty of the mathematics community—emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize for triggering the game theory revolution.

The inspiration for an Academy Award–winning movie, Sylvia Nasar’s now-classic biography is a drama about the mystery of the human mind, triumph over adversity, and the healing power of love.

©1998 Sylvia Nasar (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc. History History & Philosophy Mathematics Mental Health Professionals & Academics Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Schizophrenia & Psychotic Disorders Science Science & Technology Health

Critic reviews

"A Beautiful Mind tells a moving story and offers a remarkable look into the arcane world of mathematics and the tragedy of madness." ( New York Times Book Review)
"Nasar tells a story of triumph, tragedy, and enduring love." ( Library Journal)
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that was a very well written and read book. a very good insight into a genious with some terrible health issues. woukd highly recommend

very interesting and sad

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Really great book, beautifully narrated but; be prepared for numerous paragraphs read out twice.

(It occasionally helped when it came to the maths?

great, but some editing issues.

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It seems to be a commonly held belief that genius often goes hand-in-hand with mental illness. I've often wondered if this is actually the case or whether it's just that most people have never heard of most genius level intellects that aren't afflicted in this way. How many of us could honestly say we'd ever have heard of John Nash if it weren't for his prolonged battle with schizophrenia (if 'battle' is even the right word)?

I admit that I'd not heard of him until my wife recommended the movie to me after watching it with friends. I quickly bought it and loved it (I know which side my bread is buttered, folks) and this lead me to read the book the movie is based on.

Having now finished the book, I have to say that it's made me reappraise the film. While I'm sure I'd still enjoy the movie, I now see that it is an extremely idealised version of Nash's life. It has left out large chunks of the less sympathetic aspects of the man's personality. It's almost impossible to say how much of Nash's (how to put this?) dickish behaviour was due to his as-yet-undiagnosed schizophrenia but it is clear (to this reader, anyway) that the man was a rather unlikeable individual long before he became ill.

I don't, however, only want to read about people I'd like to have a drink with and, despite the rather unsavoury aspects of Nash's character, this is undeniably a fascinating book and I'm very glad I read it. It manages to be a 'warts-and-all' autobiography without ever stooping to sensationalism and remains respectful of its subject even while recounting some of his worst facets. I recommend it to anybody who has seen the movie version that would like to know the truth behind the Hollywood fairytale.

It's also made me want to read more about game theory...

Very different to the movie

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About Nash. Suitable for mathmos and non mathematicians. Thorough exposition and well written. Compelling read

All you need to know

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A very long detailed look at John Nash and the people around him and the places he went to , too much background detail. Nash was a significant mathematician and also suffered from schizophrenia , I was interested in his insights into his condition but they seemed quite few. A minor audio fault where a line is repeated , this occurred in nearly every chapter but not a real problem.

Very detailed

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