Don't Miss

• 2008 Holiday Catalog
• Win a 20-Volume
  Oxford English Dictionary!
• Powell's Gift Packs
• Mrs. P's Magic Library
• Indiespensable™ #7:
  The Lit-Journal Collection

More at Powell's

• Rare and Collectible Books
• Out of the Book™: State by State
• eBooks | Audio | DVDs

---

Report Comment

---

You are reporting a comment on the following title:

---

You are reporting the following comment:

crowyhead, August 22, 2006

This biography was the basis for the popular film A Beautiful Mind a few years ago. It's the fascinating story of an arrogant young mathematician who began his career with genius-level work in mathetmatics, succumbed to paranoid schizophrenia in his thirties, and ultimately experienced a remission in the late 80s and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his early work in game theory.

Reading about Nash's early life and the beginning of his career, I couldn't help but notice that he was always rather an odd duck, even before he became delusional and was diagnosed as schizophrenic. I'm inclined to think that if he were a child now, it's fairly likely he would be diagnosed as having Asperger's or something similar, but that's just my uneducated opinion. His way of relating to the world was always sufficiently different that it took a long time for many of his colleagues to realize that his eccentricities had morphed into delusions. He was a genius, he was expected to behave oddly, and in some ways this both served as a measure of protection for him, and also may have prevented him from getting help earlier.

I have to admit that I actually really disliked John Nash for a lot of the book. Even when he was sane, he was arrogant, self-absorbed, and unkind. He must have had some good qualities, though, other than his genius, because what really saved him in the end was the willingness of his friends and family to stand by him and try to help him. Again and again during his illness, his colleagues arranged work for him, smoothed over scandals caused by his odd behavior, and assisted his wife and mother in providing him with care. At times, his friends were almost too caring -- not having the same intimate contact with Nash that his wife Alice did, many of them believed he was not as ill as he actually was, and were very upset when he was involuntarily committed. The many points of view Nasar provides really bring home what it's like when someone succumbs to mental illness, and the way it affects just about everyone the person comes into contact with, like ripples in a pond.

Nash's return to normality after years of delusional behavior is still something of a mystery to neuroscientists. This is not something that often happens in schizophrenic patients, which led some to posit that Nash may not have been schizophrenic, after all. Yet his behavior and experiences are much more consistent with schizophrenia than with any of the other illnesses, like biopolar disorder, that have been suggested. This leads to the conclusion that Nash is one of the lucky few who experience a near-complete remission after years of illness.

I'd definitely recommend this biography to anyone with an interest in mathematics, mental illness, or who just likes a well-written biography.

---

Your email address:

---

Reason for report:

---

Are you a robot? We didn't think so. But just to be sure, please type what you see in the following image into the box below.

---

Confirmation:

Are you certain you wish to report this comment?

---

Terms and Conditions

We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:

• Obscenity
• Spam
• Illegal content
• Copyrighted material
• Commercial solicitations

By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right (but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party beneficiaries of these terms.

Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time. Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.

---

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

In accordance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you must be at least 13 to submit comments on Powells.com.