Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book, and a beautiful movie
Review: The correct title of the book should be, IMHO, "A
(Mathematically) Beautiful Mind", because I donot think
John Nash got a beautiful mind at all.:-)I was surprised by Hollywood's ability to produce the
wonderful movie, inspired by John's life (More accurately,
by the book.) Most of the details in the movie got wrong,
according to the book. But it's wrong beautifully. John
himself said, he felt relieved that the John in the movie
was not him. (Nevertheless, he got paid for the use of his
name in the movie.) The movie team tried to promote better,
humanistic attitude to those who get mental illness. It's
great, even if the details are not right. Most mathematicians think that his work on non-corporative
game theory, which won his the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics,
is trival, comparing with his pure mathematical works. He
himself was not sure whether this piece of work (in less
than 30 pages) would be enough for him to get his Ph.D. in
math from Princeton. But as far as I know, he is the only
Nobel Prize laureate in economics whose work challenged Adam
Smith; most of them simply extended Smith's ideas. Some of
them are really bad. Reading the book is an exciting experience (I read most of
them when riding trains between home and office, which were
the highlights of my last 14 working days.) There are 45
pages of endnotes (in small fonts), and it's kind of annoying
to turn to the endnotes several times for every page of the
text you read. I wish there were a footnote version. Also,
you will not learn a lot of John's mathematics in the book;
the author published another book, "The Essential John Nash"
for that. Surprising things I learned from the book: (1) The Institute
for Advanced Study was mainly funded by owners of a department
store in New Jersey; (2) The famous logician Godel had got
refusal for a membership in the Institute for many years;
and (3) Forget about trading stocks, even John lost most of
his mother's money in the market:-).
Nash was really lucky, for being helped by his colleagues.
Also his wife played a critical role in his recovering from
his madness. The book is correctly dedicated to John's wife,
a live testimony to a famous cliche, "Behind every great man
there's a great woman." (Also a Feminist slogan; Days ago, I
found a cushion on my sofa, and read another Feminist slogan,
"Behind every great woman there's herself." It's good that
we can get an excuse for not being great; but donot expect
to get any credit for their success, guys!:-))
It's amazing that he missed his well deserved Fields Medal
in mathematics because of his madness, but waked up in the
right moment to receive his Nobel in economics. (Fields is
an award which is widely regarded as Nobel Prize in mathmatics,
but unlike the Nobel Prize, the candidates get to be under
40 years old, and surprisingly, the prize attached the Fields
is just around $$$. A Nobel is around $$$. Disregard
the money, I still think a Nobelist, even the one in economics,
is more immortal than a Fieldsian. Who really cares about or
understands those pure mathematicians' works anyway?:-)
Finally, the book is more interesting than most novels, and
you will not regret for every penny you spend in buying the
book and every minute reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Was it Schizophrenia or was it Aspergers Syndrome?
Review: According to this book, John Nash lost his Air Force Security Clearance and his job at RAND as a direct result of exposing himself to an undercover Vice Squad agent in a Santa Monica, Ca. men's room. The book also implies that his mental problems might have been hastened on by the stress caused by this incident and the consequences Mr. Nash suffered in the 1950's, homophobic USA. Bravo for MS. Nasar! A tough story that was white washed by Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: Follows traditional autobiographical formula
Review: Let me say right off the bat that this book is very well written. As the book starts with early episodes from Nash's life, one might notices subtle similarities with 'Genius' by Gleck. And rightfully so. The writing style is surprisingly similar. But as the book progresses into dealing with 'darker' issues, Nasar's tone-play is exemplary. When Nasar deals with Nash's arrogance, for instance, she writes with a very cold and detached attitude. She very masterfully transitions into his illness without any startling abruptness. And yet, somehow, she manages to elicit reader sympathy for Nash. Nash is an extraordinary person. He continues, at his advanced age, to play what is generally called a 'young man's game'. His story will move and inspier.
Rating:
Summary: Derive Mathematically, to its Simplest Form
Review: I found it hard to leave the book, although it had to be left from time to time for sanity's sake. I found myself taken with Dr. Nash, baffled by Dr. Nash, and repelled by Dr. Nash. As others have noted, the book bears scant resemblance to the film. Had the film been a true representation of the book, it would have flopped at the box office. Mind you, I loved the book, but understand the difference between an entertaining story and the reality of a troubled life. There are many compelling reasons to read the book: it provides a rich landscape of academic life, delineates the rise of mathematics in the United States, gives interesting insights into some of the brightest mathematicians, economists and physicists the world has seen, and provides an inside look at the Nobel Prize, (I didn't realize that the prize in Economics isn't a Nobel per se). Nasar posits many of contradictions apparent in Nash's life: his love-hate relationships with his mistress, wife, parents, sister, colleagues, and indeed, his own sons; his exploits into "special relationships"; his unevenness in his handling of students; his life at the likes of Princeton, M.I.T., and Rand; the uneveness in treatment for his schizophrenia at various psychiatric hospitals; the stark contrast between those who shunned him, and those who stood by him. Nasar's telling of Nash's startling behaviors is even handed - there is no hint of judgement that I discerned. The description of the thought processes that led to his "proofs" were fascinating. I am neither economist nor mathematician, but the explanations provided were adequate to make me wonder at the mind that developed the theories. Most fascinating for me were the interpretations, by Nash and others, of the beauty, simplicity and logic in his derivations, the interplay of ego and competition, and the episodes of pure madness. The most difficult chapters related to Nash's work at Rand. My guess is that was the most difficult for Nasar to write, and it shows. But stick with it, even if you skip those chapters. Its definitely worth the time. I can't help but come away with the feeling that Nash never really went into remission. His genius merely enabled him to do a better job of mimicing "normal" behavior.
Rating:
Summary: thin line--genius and insanity
Review: I walked out of the movie and straight into the bookstore in the mall to get the book, and to read it that night. This is the reverse of my habit, which is to read the book before seeing the movie. The only thing in common between the movie and the book is the man, for they are very different, but unlike most combinations these two are both good. The movie is written to get people into the theaters and to tell their friends what a good movie they saw. So it concentrates on the heroic parts of John Nash's life, the genius and the battle against it's flipside--the darkness of illusion brought on by mental illness. While it neglects the sordid(first son and girlfriend he never married), the weird(king of Antarctica) and replaces the object of the mindless data collection and analysis with government involvement.
I'd like to expand on the heroic, that part of both the book and the movie that we cheer for, tear up at, and generally find appealing. Most of us do not identify with either genius or with madness, we can see people here and there, mostly in books and movies, that pass over the lines. But we ourselves believe ourselves anchored in the plain, commonplace, ordinary so well that it is only at a distance that we can identify with characters like John Nash. We can feel sorry, and then joy with him but we can not feel like him, unless we have been through what he did. But we can identify with his heroic struggle, with his passion to have a unique and original thought, to be the very most creative in his chosen field. This is what builds the movie. But not the book, for she shows him as a rat towards those who care for him. He is not very sympathetic a character, too often you can blame him for the bad choices, not his approaching storm of schizophrenia. This is the genius of the book that the movie neglects, in order to fill the seats. For you cry with a man whose life is a shambles not because we can experience either genius or madness but because we can participate with him in the common lot of mankind through the ages in trying to conquer ourselves. That battle with passions misdirected towards our destruction more often then towards our heroic challenges. Thanks for the book Ms. Nasar, and to John Nash, thanks for sharing your story and i'm sorry for your pain, and to the mental health professionals- can't you move a little bit faster towards fixing what ills us up there.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous book
Review: I had never heard of John Nash until I read somewhere about the book. Out of curiosity I ordered it. It is one of the most gripping and touching stories that I have ever read. Although I understood nothing about the details of the mathematical problems, I was so touched that I repeatedly wept while reading it because of the great loss to the world due to Nash's 30-year illness and due to the sadness of his life. He surely would have been another Einstein had he not become ill. How doubly sad that his younger son also became ill.
Rating:
Summary: Am I the only one...
Review: ... I had read that the movie sanitized his life, but I didn't realize to what extent until reading the book. I didn't like the movie to begin with, but now I realize why. John Nash is a very unlikable person, and Russell Crowe brought that out very well on screen, even if all the sordid details were omitted from the movie. I will not go into all the details here, but I will say that if you are a fellow disliker of the movie, this book will provide excellent fodder for that dislike. That being said, I don't think the book was bad at all, I just didn't like the person about whom it was written. To me, one measure of a good book is that it elicit some sort of emotional response from me, good or bad. Sylvia Nasar definitely succeeded in that regard. Maybe I don't know what it's like to be a genius, but I know what it is like to be a decent human being, and there were many times in his life when he did not come close to that. Nobody's perfect, but to treat his son and her mother the way he did is an extreme case of imperfection.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive look at a difficult life
Review: Like many, I expect, I read Nasar's biography after seeing the movie, "A Beautiful Mind" (which is, in and of itself, a great movie but don't expect there to be strong congruence between the 2 works). I was compelled to learn more about John Nash's brillance but also his struggle with his mental illness. Nasar's account does not disappoint on either account. For math lovers, the book's first third is filled with in-depth discussions of the major ideas Nash worked on. I am not a math person but even I was interested in Nash's ideas, although I didn't fully understand them. Nasar's account of Nash shows the incredible and fine nature of a mind that is truly brilliant even in his most selfish, self-centered moments. For those more interested in his progressive mental illness and then unexpected "recovery," Nasar also provides ample details that fill the remainder of the book. What the reader comes away with is the tantilizing thought that, perhaps, some forms of schizophrenia (which is what doctors think Nash had) can be cured or at least some schizophrenics can be led back to "normal" reality through on-going, daily contacts with one's work, colleagues, and friends. Without these anchors, I doubt that Nash would've emerged relatively unscathed or ever recovered. Also notable is Alicia Nash's single-minded devotion to John, even when she was most exasperated with him. Her voice and thoughts are missing, which is one of the few problems with Nasar's biography. The only other fault I have is the constant use of footnotes throughout the book. As a law student, I am used to this, but I prefer my non-law reading to be relatively free of such necessities. If you are reading just for pleasure, the footnotes may be bothersome to you; but if you are reading for research or to learn more, then you will appreciate Nasar's thoroughness.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting life story, but the writing is lacking
Review: Sylvia Nasar has written an intriguing biography of mathematical genius John Forbes Nash Jr who in his early years following graduate school did brilliant work in game theory, fell victim to schizophrenia, and has since seemingly recovered. His story is truly a wild ride through life with all of the attendant ups and downs one might expect after suffering from such a debilitating illness. The only problem I found with the story itself was its choppiness - it seemed that the author was too quick to jump from one subject to the next. She also often interjected quotes that didn't make a whole lot of sense. This is a fine read, but it may take you a while as the first half of the book is heavily bogged with with mathematical theories that the average layman will probably not understand well. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful story; an okay audio
Review: Having read about half the book before taking a long road trip, my wife and I picked up the audio CD for the ride. As far as truth of the abridgement, I can attest that the first half of the audio CD stays true to the book (and I would assume that follows through to the rest of the book). As such, the story is everything the reviews say it is, and would have won it 4 stars. My only complaint with the audio CD is that the reader was at times difficult to hear over the car speakers and it was difficult to follow which character was speaking when not specifically cited (granted, I'm comparing this to a few Clancy audio CDs I have). Because of these two factors, it was difficult to really follow the reader without occassionally having attention drift off. For this, the review is knocked down to 3 stars...I don't regret the purchase and would recommend it, but it's not what I was hoping for.
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