von neumann biography reviewed

von neumann biography reviewed

American Mathematical Society review or reprint (1999)
John von Neumann
The Scientific Genius Who Pioneered the Modern
Computer, Game Theory, Nuclear Deterrence,
and Much More
Norman Macrae

I always thought [von Neumann’s] brain indicated that he
belonged to a new species, an evolution beyond man. Macrae
shows us in a lively way how this brain was nurtured and then
left its great imprint on the world.
—Hans A. Bethe, Cornell University

The book makes for utterly captivating reading. Von Neumann
was, of course, one of this century’s geniuses, and it is
surprising that we have had to wait so long … for a fully
fleshed and sympathetic biography of the man. But now,
happily, we have one. Macrae nicely delineates the cultural, familial, and educational environment from which von Neumann sprang and sketches the
mathematical and scientific environment in which he flourished.
It’s no small task to render a genius like von Neumann in ordinary
language, yet Macrae manages the trick, providing more
than a glimpse of what von Neumann accomplished intellectually
without expecting the reader to have a Ph.D. in
mathematics. Beyond that, he captures von Neumann’s qualities
of temperament, mind, and personality, including his effortless
wit and humor. And [Macrae] frames and accounts for von
Neumann’s politics in ways that even critics of them, among
whom I include myself, will find provocative and illuminating.
—Daniel J. Kevles, California Institute of Technology

A lively portrait of the hugely consequential mathematicianphysicist-
et al., whose genius has left an enduring impress on
our thought, technology, society, and culture. A double salute to
Steve White, who started this grand book designed for us avid,
nonmathematical readers, and to Norman Macrae, who brought
it to a triumphant conclusion.
—Robert K. Merton, Columbia University

This volume is the reprinted edition of the first full-scale biography
of the man widely regarded as the greatest scientist of
the century after Einstein.

Born in Budapest in 1903, John von Neumann grew up in one
of the most extraordinary of scientific communities. From his
arrival in America in the mid-1930s—with bases in Boston,
Princeton, Washington, and Los Alamos—von Neumann
pioneered and participated in the major scientific and political
dramas of the next three decades, leaving his mark on more
fields of scientific endeavor than any other scientist. Von
Neumann’s work in areas such as game theory, mathematics,
physics, and meteorology formed the building blocks for the
most important discoveries of the century: the modern
computer, game theory, the atom bomb, radar, and artificial
intelligence, to name just a few.

From the laboratory to the highest levels of government, this
definitive biography gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the
politics and personalities involved in these world-changing
discoveries. Written more than 30 years after von Neumann’s
untimely death at age 56, it was prepared with the cooperation
of his family and includes information gained from interviewing
countless sources across Europe and America. Norman
Macrae paints a highly readable, humanizing portrait of a man
whose legacy still influences and shapes modern science and
knowledge.