A Beautiful Mind: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script)

National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography

In this powerful and dramatic biography Sylvia Nasar vividly re-creates the life of a mathematical genius whose career was cut short by schizophrenia and who, after three decades of devastating mental illness, miraculously recovered and was honored with a Nobel Prize. A Beautiful Mind traces the meteoric rise of John Forbes Nash, Jr., a prodigy and legend by the age of thirty, who dazzled the mathematical world by solving a series of deep problems deemed "impossible" by other mathematicians.

But at the height of his fame, Nash suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown and began a harrowing descent into insanity, resigning his post at MIT, slipping into a series of bizarre delusions, and eventually becoming a dreamy, ghostlike figure at Princeton, scrawling numerological messages on blackboards. He was all but forgotten by the outside world — until, remarkably, he emerged from his madness to win world acclaim. A feat of biographical writing, A Beautiful Mind is also a fascinating look at the extraordinary and fragile nature of genius.

"A Beautiful Mind tells a moving story and offers a remarkable look into the arcane world of mathematics and the tragedy of madness." Simon Singh,The New York Times Book Review

"...a fascinating account of creativity barely under control, of a mathematical genius who was driven by--and eventually overwhelmed by--his own inner demons. It represents a staggering feat of writing and reporting, and includes an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the Nobel Prize committee." Michael J. Mandel, Business Week

"...a "must read", with something for everyone ... [a] first-rate biography..." Keith Devlin, New Scientist

"A Beautiful Mind, the intensely human drama of a true genius, is inspired by events in the life of mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. The handsome and highly eccentric Nash made an astonishing discovery early in life and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But his white-hot ascent into the intellectual stratosphere drastically changed course when Nash's intuitive brilliance was undermined by schizophrenia. Facing challenges that have destroyed many others, Nash fought back, with the help of his devoted wife Alicia. After decades of hardship, he triumphed over tragedy, and received the Nobel Prize in 1994. A living legend, Nash continues to pursue his work today." Directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer, this Universal and DreamWorks production stars Russell Crowe as John Nash. The screenplay of A Beautiful Mind was written by Akiva Goldsman and based in part on the biography of Sylvia Nasar. The cast also includes Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, and Judd Hirsch.

A former economics correspondent for The New York Times, Sylvia Nasar is the Knight Professor of Journalism at Columbia University. She lives in Tarrytown, New York.

Contents

Prologue

Part One: A Beautiful Mind

1 Bluefield (1928-45)
2 Carnegie Institute of Technology (June 1945-June 1948)
3 The Center of the Universe (Princeton, Fall 1948)
4 School of Genius (Princeton, Fall 1948)
5 Genius (Princeton, 1948-49)
6 Games (Princeton, Spring 1949.)
7 John von Neumann (Princeton, 1948-49)
8 The Theory of Games
9 The Bargaining Problem (Princeton, Spring 1949)
10 Nash's Rival Idea (Princeton, 1949-50)
11 Lloyd (Princeton, 1950)
12 The War of Wits (RAND, Summer 1950)
13 Game Theory at RAND
14 The Draft (Princeton, 195O-51)
15 A Beautiful Theorem (Princeton, 1950-51)
16 MIT
17 Bad Boys
18 Experiments (RAND, Summer 1952)
19 Reds (Spring 1953)
20 Geometry

Part Two: Separate Lives

21 Singularity
22 A Special Friendship (Santa Monica, Summer 1952)
23 Eleanor
24 Jack
25 The Arrest (RAND, Summer 1954)
26 Alicia
27 The Courtship
28 Seattle (Summer 1956)
29 Death and Marriage (1956-57)

Part Three: A Slow Fire Burning

30 Olden Lane and Washington Square (1956-57)
31 The Bomb Factory
32 Secrets (Summer 1958)
33 Schemes (Fall 1958)
34 The Emperor of Antarctica
35 In the Eye of the Storm (Spring 1959)
36 Day-Breaks in Bowditch Hall (McLean Hospital, April-May, 1959)
37 Mad Hatter's Tea (May-June 1959)

Part Four: The Lost Years

38 Citoyen du Monde (Paris and Geneva, 1959-60)
39 Absolute Zero (Princeton, 1960)
40 Tower of Silence (Trenton State Hospital, 1961)
41 An Interlude of Enforced Rationality (July 1961-April 1963)
42 The "Blowing Up" Problem (Princeton and Carrier Clinic, 1963-65)
43 Solitude (Boston, 1965-67)
44 A Man All Alone in a Strange World (Roanoke, 1967-70)
45 Phantom of Fine Hall (Princeton, 1970s)
46 A Quiet Life (Princeton, 1970-90)

Part Five: The Most Worthy

47 Remission
48 The Prize
49 The Greatest Auction Ever (Washington, D.C., December 1994)
50 Reawakening (Princeton, 1995-97)
Notes

Select Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index