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Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
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Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
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Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
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Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
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Beautiful Mind The Life of Mathematical Genius & Nobel Laureate John Nash
by
Sylvia Nasar
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ISBN13:
9780743224574
ISBN10:
0743224574
Condition:
Standard
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Awards
Winner of the 1999 National Book Critics Circle Award.
4.5
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Average customer rating 4.5 (2 comments)
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rwilson
, August 15, 2007
(view all comments by rwilson)
Seeing the movie made from this book and reading the book are two very different experiences! This is a book about math and a memoir, and author Sylvia Nascar somehow manages to render both beautifully. Even if you're not a "mathie" but you are a serious reader, this is a fascinating and thorough biography of a complex man. Once you understand that John Nash's abrasiveness and apparent cruelty come from his disability, you have to feel compassion for him and admiration that he accomplished all he did despite his handicap.
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crowyhead
, August 22, 2006
(view all comments by crowyhead)
This biography was the basis for the popular film [t]A Beautiful Mind[/t] 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 [kw]John Nash [/kw]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 [a]Nasar[/a] 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.
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Product Details
ISBN:
9780743224574
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
12/01/2001
Publisher:
SIMON & SCHUSTER TRADE
Pages:
464
Height:
9.25 in.
Width:
6.12 in.
Grade Range:
General/trade
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
2001
Series Volume:
no. 2001-127
UPC Code:
2800743224576
Author:
Sylvia Nasar
Subject:
Mathematicians
Subject:
Mentally ill -- United States.
Subject:
Schizophrenics -- United States.
Subject:
Schizophrenics
Subject:
History -- Philosophy.
Subject:
History
Subject:
Mentally ill
$5.95
List Price:
$16.00
Used Trade Paperback
Ships in 1 to 3 days
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1
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