Country United States Name A Mind Genres Biography Language English Role Book by Sylvia Nasar Page count 459 | Pages 459 Originally published 1998 ISBN 0-684-81906-6 | |
Original title A Beautiful Mind: a Biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr., Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, 1994 Media type Print (Hardcover, paperback) Awards National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography/Autobiography Biographies An Unquiet Mind, The Man Who Loved Only Num, Einstein: His Life and Univ, Eat - Pray - Love, The Autobiography of Benja | ||
Adaptations A Beautiful Mind (2001) | ||
The open mind a beautiful mind by sylvia nasar
A Beautiful Mind (1998) is a biography of Nobel Prize-winning economist and mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. by Sylvia Nasar, professor of journalism at Columbia University. An unauthorized work, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1998 and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in biography. It inspired the 2001 film by the same name.
Contents
Scope
Starting with his childhood, the book covers Nash's years at Princeton and MIT, his work for the RAND Corporation, his family and his struggle with schizophrenia.
Although Nasar notes that Nash did not consider himself a homosexual, she describes his arrest for indecent exposure and firing from RAND amid the suspicion that he was a homosexual (then considered grounds for revoking one's security clearance).
The book ends with Nash being awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994. The book is a detailed description of many aspects of Nash's life, including the nature of his mathematical genius, and a close examination of his personality and motivations. It gives an interesting perspective on the stresses placed on personal and professional relationships by severe mental illness.
Reception
The book was widely praised. John Milnor notes the ethical issues posed by the book, an unauthorized biography and prepared without the cooperation of the subject.
The book won the 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award for biography, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for biography, and was shortlisted for the Rhône-Poulenc Prize in 1999. The book also appeared on the New York Times' bestseller list for biography.
Adaptations
The book inspired the film A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. It won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for 2001 at the 74th Academy Awards.