Book Review: "A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nasar

A Beautiful Mind

"A legend by the age of thirty, recognized as a mathematical genius even as he slipped into madness, John Nash emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize and world acclaim." ~ from cover of book

Though not a good selection for someone looking for a quick and light read, A Beautiful Mind is an intense biography of John F. Nash, Jr., a mathematician who rubbed elbows with the likes of John von Neumann and Albert Einstein. His arrogance was outweighed by his eccentric genius, which eventually won him a Nobel Prize in economics.

Before this award, however, Nash slowly lost his grip with reality and, by his thirties, fell into full-blown schizophrenia.

I have no particular interest in the field of mathematics. Nevertheless, I found this biography fascinating and poignant despite its occasional slow parts. Perhaps because biographies/autobiographies deal with the lives of real people, I overlook the "slow parts" by simply remembering that I am a voyeur into someone's life. Now that I have read the book, I have added the movie starring Russell Crowe to the top of my Netflix queue :)