• A Beautiful Mind

  • By: Sylvia Nasar
  • Narrated by: Anna Fields
  • Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (666 ratings)

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A Beautiful Mind  By  cover art

A Beautiful Mind

By: Sylvia Nasar
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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Editorial review


By Mysia Haight, Audible Editor

A BEAUTIFUL MIND IS A REAL-LIFE LOOK AT GENIUS, MENTAL ILLNESS, AND LOVING A DIFFICULT PERSON

A Beautiful Mind, the book, explores the stigma attached to people who've struggled with mental illness. The accounts of Nash being hospitalized against his will and subjected, again and again, to a treatment he described as "torture"—insulin shock therapy, which provoked extremely violent, spontaneous seizures—are not easy reading. (Fortunately, his wife and colleagues said no to electroshock therapy for fear of numbing Nash's genius.) After his hard-fought recovery, Nash was nearly passed over for the Nobel Prize because of his history with schizophrenia. Could you give the highest of scientific honors to a man who had mental illness? Some committee members were dubious, believing that schizophrenia had transformed Nash into a different, and lesser, person. Taking us inside the secret deliberations at the Swedish Academy, Nasar reveals the controversy over recognizing Nash, with his fragile mental health, at age 66 for a theory he had conceived as an exceptionally mentally strong 21 year old. It was a fraught, contentious decision. Nash was not permitted to give an acceptance speech, contrary to the movie’s dramatic final scene. But Alicia was in Stockholm with him, supportive as always.

The true life story of John Forbes Nash Jr. is certainly stranger than the highly fictionalized screen version. Nash, unlike Russell Crowe's endearing portrayal, was a difficult man to like and deal with; he was often self-absorbed and sometimes callous. Then, there’s the mystery of how he overcame schizophrenia—purely on the strength of his mind. Nash stopped taking medication for his illness in 1970 and learned, he says, to discard his paranoid thoughts. To my mind, that's a feat as amazing as his coming up with game theory and other mathematical marvels I can't begin to wrap my brain around. Yet Sylvia Nasar celebrates John Nash for perhaps his most brilliant move—recognizing the extraordinary qualities of Alicia Larde. "It was Nash’s genius," she writes in A Beautiful Mind, "to choose a woman who would prove so essential to his survival."

Continue reading Mysia's review >

Publisher's summary

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.

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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What listeners say about A Beautiful Mind

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Informative not entertaining

This book is nothing like the movie. The movie skipped everything that would make you dislike John Nash and that is a lot. Nash was an A##hole. Yet the book is more true to life. My wife is a coach to the math team from our state and she will tell you that many geniuses are similar to Nash, mostly unsociable. Of course that is because our society puts down overachievers. In school it is not cool to be the smart kid. If you liked Einstein by Walter Isaacson, then you will like this book. There is a lot in here not only about Nash, but also about the geniuses he was around. There is also a lot in here about his disease. I found this book more informative then entertaining. It was real, it was good, it just was not real good.

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35 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Its a biography of a mathematician.

Seeing the reviews below, I have to say: Its a biography of a mathematician. If you don't have any idea of what game theory, set theory, or quantum mechanics is... you might not get many references in this book. That being said there is very little "actual" math in the book; so math hesitant listeners need not beware. Most listeners with a well-rounded knowledge in mathematics and science will be able to understand and enjoy this book.

It does delve, perhaps slightly obtusely, into the history of Princeton, the IAS, etc. but the author uses this to help the listener really understand the environment and world that Nash was living in. Plus there are lots of anecdotal stories about Einstein, Von Neumann, etc. that are actually quite interesting.

There were a few times in the first few chapters I laughed out loud. :) I would recommend this book for anyone who is not already familiar with the real story of John Nash (not the movie) and has an interest in learning about how one of the great mathematicians of our time lived.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Rough Life Research not Romaticizised Movie Reel

A Beautiful Mind Book Review
The movie entitled A Beautiful Mind was a romanticized tribute to the best of Dr. John Nash. A Beautiful Mind the book is researched truth, a tribute to the family and friends of Dr. John Nash who cared for him at his worst as well his best. I commend the author for the depth of research that went into this book as is inferred in the book's Acknowledgments. I commend the reader who read this book aloud. This documentation of the life of a mentally ill mathematical genius was not easy or light hearted reading.
I am neither a mathematician nor a genius. The math in the book went in one ear and out the other. However, the math could not have been omitted because math made the man. Math was John Nash's mental anchor. It was the product of his genius.
I read this book because like so many of the people referenced in this book, I have loved ones who suffer with mental illness. This book shines a bright light of hope into the dark side of mental illness. It honors those who care for the mentally ill and gives insight into the needs of the mentally ill. Mentally ill persons need a community in which they can be protected as well as productive . they need this peaceful place to connect as much if not more so than they need pills and psychology,

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Unless you are a math Ph.D...

One of the rare situations where I should have gotten the abridged version, which I can only assume is minus the complicated theories discussed in way too much detail. I had hoped to hear about John Nash's life, but can't get past the author's intellect. This was too difficult to listen to for me, and I suspect it would be the same for most people who are not mathematicians.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The movie is a work of fiction

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

First of all, I think it's a good thing that I read this now, 10 years ish after deciding I would read it someday. Because if I read it then, the first part of this book would have bored me out of my mind. There is a lot of discussion about Game Theory. And I feel like if you don't have at least some understanding of the concept of the Nash Equilibrium, it's difficult to appreciate the importance of his work. As someone who has only recently studied Game Theory, it seems incredible that Game Theory existed before Nash developed the NE.

But the bulk of the book is of course about his illness. But before that, there is a lot to learn about Nash's personal life, that would make you view him in a completely different light. Well, basically, John Nash, in his prime, was a complete asshole. I don't want to spend too much time writing about it. But other than treating people badly, he actually ruined some lives.

The rest of his biography, about his illness, and how it affected his family, and his recovery - is what makes his story so incredible, but I don't really have a whole lot to say about it. Having been a Game Theory student, it was interesting to me to learn about John Nash, but I don't have a whole lot of unique thoughts about the book other than how it relates to the movie.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I'd wanted to read this ever since I learned that this movie that I thought was so amazing was based on it. Actually, it probably still is a great movie that totally deserved its Best Picture Oscar, but the movie gives you such an incorrect portrayal of John Nash!

Watch the movie as a work of fiction inspired by a real-life academic, but if you want to actually learn about John Nash, please read the book.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating

If you could sum up A Beautiful Mind in three words, what would they be?

I never saw the movie so I had no basis for comparison except with other biographies that I've read. John Nash is a fascinating man and I appreciated this detailed look into his life. I think that the author treated him with respect but did not hold back on sharing the tragedy of his life. I love biographies and this one did not disappoint me.

Have you listened to any of Anna Fields’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I have listened to several of her books but this is the first biography. I thought she did a great job.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Great Book

This was an interesting story that is characteristic of so many brilliant people. There seems to be a very fine line between genious and mental illness. The book was filled with information different than the movie and it contained a great deal of information about advanced topics in mathematics. I recomend this for anyone interested in mind and math.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Edit the recording better, please!

I wish they would have listened through it to catch all of the repetition (sentences repeated exactly), those always distracted me from what is being said and I have to go back (and end up listening to the sentence four times instead of once). I’m used to catching one or two in an audiobook now and then, but this audiobook is getting excessive with this problem (it’s only reason I’m even reviewing).

I’m only 8 hours and 14 mins in, 11 hours to go, so far it’s been informative.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Story, Above average overall

Above average I would say but some of the math ideas and game theory explanations were complex to a regular guy such as myself. The story of Nash itself was interesting and held my attention. If you understand some of Nash's ideas or are familiar with his work then I would say this book is a must, and you shouldn't be reading my reviews anyway. I gave it 3 of five stars

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Beautiful Book!

If you could sum up A Beautiful Mind in three words, what would they be?

Worth the listening!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course, Nash himself, but his wife Alicia played a crucial role over all the plot, so she deserves a lot of credit for his remission.

What does Anna Fields bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator changes the voice intonation when quoting a man's voice, and Nash's voice in a special way, so it's really entertaining and it helps following a dialogue!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Comparing to the movie, it's much better (as usual) and portraits the real issues and struggles.

Any additional comments?

It's not only about Nash's life, but the way the author contextualizes every relevant moment, providing background on places, people, science and world history, causes you to really immerse in that period of time, so you will be able to understand why and how the things developed the way they did. Great general knowledge update!

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6 people found this helpful