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.
About the Author :
Sylvia Nasar, a former economics correspondent for the New York Times, is the Knight Professor of Journalism at Columbia University. She lives in Tarrytown, New York.
Anna Fields (1965-2006), winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2004, was one of the most respected narrators in the industry. Trained at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she was also a director, producer, and technician at her own studio, Cedar House Audio.
Review :
"A brilliant book...an important contribution to American intellectual history."
-- "David Herbert Donald, New York Times bestselling author"
"A deeply moving love story, an account of the centrality of human relationships in a world of nightmare and genius."
-- "New England Journal of Medicine"
"A splendid book...remarkable for its sympathetic insights into both genius and schizophrenia."
-- "Oliver Sacks, New York Times bestselling author"
"An eloquent, heartbreaking, and heartwarming tale, told with elegance and assurance of a major writer."
-- "Timothy Ferris, author of Coming of Age in the Milky Way"
"Highly recommended."
-- "Amazon.com"
"Nasar...is equally adept at probing the puzzle of schizophrenia and giving a non-technical context for Nash's mathematical and scientific ideas."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Rarely has the fragility of the boundary separating genius from madness been illustrated with more compelling insight."
-- "Booklist"
"Superbly written and eminently fascinating."
-- "Boston Globe"
"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 "
