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A Beautiful Mind
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
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A Beautiful Mind
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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.
Critic reviews
"Nasar tells a story of triumph, tragedy, and enduring love." ( Library Journal)
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 627
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 434
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 441
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
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Robert Oppenheimer
- A Life Inside the Center
- By: Ray Monk
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 35 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 292
Robert Oppenheimer was among the most brilliant and divisive of men. As head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, he oversaw the successful effort to beat the Nazis in the race to develop the first atomic bomb – a breakthrough that was to have eternal ramifications for mankind and that made Oppenheimer the “Father of the Atomic Bomb.” But with his actions leading up to that great achievement, he also set himself on a dangerous collision course with Senator Joseph McCarthy and his witch-hunters. In Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center, Ray Monk, author of peerless biographies of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell, goes deeper than any previous biographer in the quest to solve the enigma of Oppenheimer’s motivations and his complex personality.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A comprehensive biography
- By Jean on 10-17-14
By: Ray Monk
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And So It Goes
- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life
- By: Charles J. Shields
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonnegut’s life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans
- By Watery M on 12-22-12
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Ayn Rand and the World She Made
- By: Anne C. Heller
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 337
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 207
Ayn Rand is the author of two phenomenally best-selling ideological novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, which have sold over 12 million copies in the United States alone. Through them, she built a right-wing cult following in the late 1950s and became the guiding light of Libertarianism and of White House economic policy in the 1960s and '70s. Her defenses of radical individualism and of selfishness as a "capitalist virtue" have permanently altered the American cultural landscape.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Great history of both Rand and her era
- By Mark on 08-07-10
By: Anne C. Heller
-
Metaphysical Animals
- How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life
- By: Clare Mac Cumhaill, Rachae Wiseman
- Narrated by: Alex Dunmore
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
The history of European philosophy is usually constructed from the work of men. In Metaphysical Animals, a pioneering group biography, Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman offer a compelling alternative. In the mid-twentieth century Elizabeth Anscombe, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot, and Iris Murdoch were philosophy students at Oxford when most male undergraduates and many tutors were conscripted away to fight in the Second World War. Together, these young women, all friends, developed a philosophy that could respond to the war’s darkest revelations.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Book about nothing
- By Gerardo Naranjo Gonzalez on 06-14-22
By: Clare Mac Cumhaill, and others
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109 East Palace
- Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: Anne Twomey
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 281
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
They were told as little as possible. Their orders were to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and report for work at a classified Manhattan Project site, a location so covert it was known to them only by the mysterious address: 109 East Palace.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen
- By John H. Davis III on 10-22-05
By: Jennet Conant
-
Endgame
- Bobby Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall—from America’s Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness
- By: Frank Brady
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 921
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 764
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 766
From Frank Brady, who wrote one of the best-selling books on Bobby Fischer of all time and who was himself a friend of Fischer’s, comes an impressively researched biography that for the first time completely captures the remarkable arc of Bobby Fischer’s life. When Bobby Fischer passed away in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Everyone knew the basics of his life—he began as a brilliant youngster, then became the pride of American chess, then took a sharp turn, struggling with paranoia and mental illness. But nobody truly understood him.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Trajedy
- By Roy on 02-27-11
By: Frank Brady
-
A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 510
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 435
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 435
Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
- By Bonny on 05-08-18
By: Rob Goodman, and others
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Going Clear
- Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Morton Sellers
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,595
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,031
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,004
A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower, the now-classic study of al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attack. Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists—both famous and less well known—and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative ability to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Shockingly Great
- By Michael on 01-27-13
By: Lawrence Wright
-
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
- Selected Letters of Richard Feynman
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe, Johanna Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 181
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 100
Few scientists have enthralled more people than Richard P. Feynman, the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Six Easy Pieces and Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Beloved for his engaging character and zest for life, he is an American icon. In this selection of letters, Feynman's towering genius and singular personality shine like dazzling stars.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely delightful
- By csk on 07-07-05
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Inside Scientology
- The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
- By: Janet Reitman
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,163
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,847
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,864
Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest-growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of government to further its goals.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My cup of tea.
- By MWMcCabe on 08-09-11
By: Janet Reitman
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Tuxedo Park
- A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II
- By: Jennet Conant
- Narrated by: John Kroft
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
In the late 1930s, legendary financier, philanthropist, and society figure Alfred Lee Loomis gathered the most visionary scientific minds of the 20th century at his state-of-the-art laboratory in Tuxedo Park, New York. He established a top-secret defense laboratory at MIT and personally bankrolled pioneering research into new, high-powered radar detection systems that helped defeat the German Air Force and U-boats. With Ernest Lawrence, he pushed Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund research in nuclear fission, which led to the development of the atomic bomb.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic book, weak technical execution
- By Paul on 10-13-18
By: Jennet Conant
-
Alan Turing
- Unlocking The Enigma
- By: David Boyle
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 339
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 335
Alan Mathison Turing. Mathematician, philosopher, codebreaker, a founder of computer science, and the father of Artificial Intelligence, Turing was one of the most original thinkers of the last century - and the man whose work helped create the computer-driven world we now inhabit. But he was also an enigmatic figure, deeply reticent yet also strikingly naive. Turing's openness about his homosexuality at a time when it was an imprisonable offense ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of only 41.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating look at a fascinating man
- By kwestrope on 10-16-18
By: David Boyle
-
The Gift of Adversity
- The Unexpected Benefits of Life's Difficulties, Setbacks, and Imperfections
- By: Norman E. Rosenthal M.D.
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
The noted research psychiatrist explores how life's disappointments and difficulties provide us with the lessons we need to become better, bigger, and more resilient human beings. Adversity is an irreducible fact of life. Although we can and should learn from all experiences, both positive and negative best-selling author Dr. Norman E. Rosenthal believes that adversity is by far the best teacher most of us will ever encounter.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Book ruined by the narrator
- By David C. on 12-07-22
-
The Catcher Was a Spy
- The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg
- By: Nicholas Dawidoff
- Narrated by: Jeff Kramer
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 166
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 142
The only Major League ballplayer whose baseball card is on display at the headquarters of the CIA, Moe Berg has the singular distinction of having both a 15-year career as a catcher for such teams as the New York Robins and the Chicago White Sox and that of a spy for the OSS during World War II. Here, Dawidoff provides "a careful and sympathetic biography" ( Chicago Sun-Times) of this enigmatic man.
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2 out of 5 stars
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An interesting topic made horribly dull!
- By Victoria J. Mejia-Gewe on 05-01-14
-
Bobby Fischer Goes to War
- How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match
- By: David Edmonds, John Eidinow
- Narrated by: Sam Tsoutsouvas
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
In the summer of 1972, with a presidential crisis stirring in the United States and the cold war at a pivotal point, two men, the Soviet world chess champion Boris Spassky and his American challenger Bobby Fischer, met in the most notorious chess match of all time. Their showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, held the world spellbound for two months with reports of psychological warfare, ultimatums, political intrigue, cliffhangers, and farce to rival a Marx Brothers film.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Engrossing
- By Gene on 02-09-05
By: David Edmonds, and others
-
The Harvard Psychedelic Club
- How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
- By: Don Lattin
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 263
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 235
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 232
It is impossible to overstate the cultural significance of the four men described in Don Lattin's The Harvard Psychedelic Club. Huston Smith, tirelessly working to promote cross-cultural religious and spiritual tolerance. Richard Alpert, aka Ram Dass, inspiring generations with his mantra "be here now". Andrew Weil, undisputed leader of the holistic medicine revolution. And, of course, Timothy Leary, the charismatic, rebellious counterculture icon and LSD guru.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A Fascinating, Engaging Story, Expertly Told
- By Gillian Culff on 12-12-19
By: Don Lattin
-
Agent M
- The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight
- By: Henry Hemming
- Narrated by: Henry Hemming
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
The fascinating, improbable true story of Maxwell Knight - the great MI5 spymaster and inspiration for the James Bond character M. Maxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history. He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric - a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets - and almost totally unqualified for espionage. Yet he had a gift for turning practically anyone into a fearless secret agent.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding in every way!
- By Grace O'Malley on 07-18-22
By: Henry Hemming
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 197
Churchill: A Life follows Winston Churchill from his earliest days to his moments of triumph. Here, the drama and excitement of his story are ever-present. Martin Gilbert gives us a vivid portrait, using Churchill's most personal letters and the recollections of his contemporaries, both friends and enemies, to go behind the scenes of some of the stormiest and most fascinating political events of our time.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not a two volume work
- By Michael Burke on 03-18-20
By: Martin Gilbert
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Surviving Schizophrenia, 6th Edition
- A Family Manual
- By: E. Fuller Torrey MD
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
Since publication in 1983, Surviving Schizophrenia has become the standard reference book on the disease and has helped thousands of patients, their families, and mental health professionals. In clear language, this much-praised and important book describes the nature, causes, symptoms, treatment, and course of schizophrenia and also explores living with it from both the patient's and the family's point of view. This new, completely updated sixth edition includes the latest research findings on what causes the disease, as well as information about the newest drugs for treatment.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Bad narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 04-10-18
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John Nash, Jr.
- The Life and Legacy of One of America's Most Influential Mathematicians
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Jim D Johnston
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story3 out of 5 stars 4
In 2001, the critically acclaimed film A Beautiful Mind introduced millions to John Nash, Jr., one of America's most important 20th century mathematicians, nearly 50 years after he had won a Nobel Prize. Naturally, most viewers of the movie will remember a prodigy suffering from paranoid schizophrenia while overlooking how the man's innovative studies and works had a major influence on everything from economics to biology, cryptography, artificial intelligence, and political philosophy.
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The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 311
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 267
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Story4 out of 5 stars 265
Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
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The Teacher of Warsaw
- By: Mario Escobar
- Narrated by: Zach Hoffman
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
Sixty-year-old Janusz Korczak and the students and teachers at his Dom Sierot Jewish orphanage are outside enjoying a beautiful day in Warsaw. Hours later, their lives are altered forever when the Nazis invade. Suddenly treated as an outcast in his own city, Janusz—a respected leader known for his heroism and teaching—is determined to do whatever it takes to protect the children from the horrors to come. Unforgettable, devastating, and inspired by a real-life hero of the Holocaust, The Teacher of Warsaw reminds the world that one person can incite meaning, hope, and love.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A brilliant audio
- By Kayla Willis on 07-13-22
By: Mario Escobar
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Thinking Strategically
- The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life
- By: Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Mark Delgado
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 141
The international best seller - don't compete without it! A major best seller in Japan, Financial Times top-ten book of the year, Book-of-the-Month Club best seller, and required reading at the best business schools, Thinking Strategically is a crash course in outmaneauvering any rival. This entertaining guide builds on scores of case studies taken from business, sports, the movies, politics, and gambling. It outlines the basics of good strategy-making and then shows how you can apply them in any area of your life.
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1 out of 5 stars
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better read
- By BB on 01-02-14
By: Avinash K. Dixit
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Everything Is Fine
- A Memoir
- By: Vince Granata
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 280
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 238
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 239
Vince Granata remembers standing in front of his suburban home in Connecticut the day his mother and father returned from the hospital with his three new siblings in tow. He had just finished scrawling their names in orange chalk on the driveway: Christopher, Timothy, and Elizabeth. Twenty-three years later, Vince was a thousand miles away when he received the news that would change his life - his younger brother, Tim, propelled by unchecked schizophrenia, had killed their mother in their childhood home.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brutal and Beautiful
- By 3dogknits on 07-14-21
By: Vince Granata
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The Man from the Future
- The Visionary Life of John von Neumann
- By: Ananyo Bhattacharya
- Narrated by: Nicholas Camm
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 255
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 254
The smartphones in our pockets and computers like brains. The vagaries of game theory and evolutionary biology. Nuclear weapons and self-replicating spacecrafts. All bear the fingerprints of one remarkable, yet largely overlooked, man: John von Neumann.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good book, very odd narration
- By Ben Wiener on 04-10-22
What listeners say about A Beautiful Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-20-19
Strange repeats
The editing is shoddy and often a sentence is repeated. At first, I thought I was crazy!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Greg
- 12-14-19
fascinating great performance
very hard book to do, so many facets, very complicated, great job, elicia what a hard life
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- TX Tiger
- 09-06-21
Good book
I really enjoyed the movie and wanted to see how the book compared. I was not disappointed. As expected the book is a little different from the movie as the book adds a lot of depth to the story. The production/editing leaves a bit to be desired as it frequently repeated 1-2 sentences which was distracting. The narrator was quite good and easy to understand.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 03-21-18
a very touching story
Anna Fields reading is wonderful and it is not only because it is a such great story of exceptional men who overall was a human.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kristy LeClair
- 02-08-24
incredibile research for this story written in a way any la person will understand.
story handled with deep respect for a man and family who experienced the best and worst in life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- TheHasselhoff
- 08-15-12
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
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 04-27-19
Problems with the recording
There are a lot of repetitions of sentences in this production. Would be great to fix this
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Samuel Purviance
- 08-27-21
Movie better than the real facts
A remarkable story of a unique man. No doubt. But so many long boring parts. It reads like a check list or grocery store list much of the time. Just reporting sequential facts and activities in an emotionless deadpan.
I stuck it out and heard it all. But had to put it aside for weeks at a time to go to something with color and verve.
This book has neither.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-07-24
Very good book.
This book had so much history and detail that it dragged on. It was a wonderful story but some of the details seemed too long. I enjoyed it but have to admit to skipping to the end of some chapters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kael Godwn
- 05-26-20
poorly edited
more than any of the other 300 books I have in my library, this book has spots where it repeats 15-30 second passages. irritating, but not a deal breaker
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3 people found this helpful