John Von Neumann [Hardcover]

Norman Macrae (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1992

A biography of the man regarded as the greatest scientist since Einstein moves from the laboratory to the highest levels of government, showing how von Neumann's theories provided the building blocks for the modern computer, the atom bomb, radar, artificial intelligence, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Von Neumann (1903-1957), the mathematical prodigy who exercised deadly cool logic in developing the Los Alamos atom bomb and in placing Hiroshima on America's list of target cities, was an excessively polite, self-critical, shy genius. Born to a cultured Jewish family in Budapest, this bright light of Weimar Germany and of Depression-era Princeton is usually remembered as a warmonger and a right-wing hawk. But in this affectionate, humanizing biography, former Economist editor Macrae limns a prescient pragmatist who actively fought against fascism and who advocated a policy of nuclear deterrence because he foresaw that Stalin's Soviet Union would rapidly acquire the bomb and develop rocketry. A prime architect of the modern digital computer, von Neumann brought about a revolution in meteorology and left his mark on physics, game theory and economics. Macrae makes these contributions accessible to the lay reader, and also discusses von Neumann's relationships with two long-suffering wives, his political differences with Einstein and the cancer that killed him.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Macrae, former editor of the Economist and author of The 2025 Report (1985), offers an oddly jocular biography of the Hungarian mathematical prodigy who would become a highly influential cold warrior before his death in 1957--an account whose credibility is hindered by the author's unabashed reverence for his subject. One of the four Hungarian geniuses who would help introduce the Atomic Age at Los Alamos (the others were Edward Teller, Leo Szilard, and Eugene Wigner), von Neumann made his mark in Europe while barely past his teens through his contributions to a mathematical foundation for the new quantum physics. In 1930, the young, newly married mathematician emigrated to America to teach at Princeton. While von Neumann moved on in succeeding years to increasingly influential posts at the Institute for Advanced Study, the Los Alamos atom-bomb project, Teller's hydrogen-bomb program, and, finally, the freshly created Atomic Energy Commission, his agile and highly logical mind left an indelible mark on the computer revolution, games theory, economics, and, as his political clout increased, international relations. Despite the fact that the general reader is as likely to be interested in the development of von Neumann's hawkish political stance (particularly regarding the nuclear-arms race), and his odd fascination with such topics as global government and control of the weather, as in his scientific contributions, Macrae veers away from serious exploration of his subject's philosophical outlook--instead emphasizing (and applauding) the ease with which ``our Johnny'' used dirty jokes to evade emotional political debate, and ridiculing those of differing political temperament (e.g., deeming ``Bertie'' Russell and Norbert Wiener ``geniuses turned emotionally too dotty''). The effect is off-putting, and though ``Johnny's'' romp through world affairs is dutifully recounted, the private motivations of this hard-drinking, power-loving genius remain, in quintessential 50's style, drowned in nervous laughter. (B&w photos--16 pages--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 405 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1ST edition (October 6, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679413081
• ISBN-13: 978-0679413080
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 4.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive, non-technical biography of von Neumann., July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: John Von Neumann (Hardcover)

The major difficulty in writing a scientific biography of von Neumann is that it is impossible to do justice to his tremendous scientific achievements without going into technicalities that are not accessible for the average reader. Macrae's book deliberately avoids discussing technicalities in detail, and while this makes it possible to give a very readable, comprehensive picture of von Neumann's life and its personality -- especially in context of the current socio-economic conditions -- reading the book one cannot really understand and appreciate why he is regarded by the sharpest minds of this century as a true genius.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book about one of the century's major minds., February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: John Von Neumann (Hardcover)

John Von Neumann's incredible contributions to a vast array of fields are often overlooked and he is identified strictly with respect to one or two (game theory, the computer, and the development of nuclear weapons). But Von Neumman's contributions spawned such fields as mathematical economics and artifical intelligence as well as many new kinds of mathematics. The only thing lacking in this book is more mathematical detail about his work.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Touching Masterpiece for all Scholars and even any Concerned Readers, August 3, 2007

By 

Kunj Patel "Scientific Cerebrator" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Von Neumann (Hardcover)

As a prodigious reader of biographies--of all sorts, but mostly those of persons of science and mathematics (probably read about a hundred)--I feel qualified to say that this biography of John von Neumann is one of the greatest written biographies available today. While the previous reviewers are completely correct in that there is little detailed technical information, the book more than compensates for this in its other aspects. The book is filled with fantastic anecdotes regarding John von Neumann's eccentricities and his extraordinary displays of his unparalleled abilities at mental calculation, problem solving, and memorization. (He was able to memorize entire book chapters verbatim and recite them 15 years later. He could easily multiply two eight digit numbers in his head. And so on...) The few stories that aren't breathtaking are downright hilarious! They often show the jovial side (and sometimes licentious side) of this man, who was one of the single greatest minds of the past millenium.

I particularly recommend this book for all types of quantitative thinkers, or even scholars of any sort who wish to widen their purview of the world. Von Neumann helps to define what it means to be an exemplary scientist. Furthermore, he does a great job of showing the moral responsibilities and gentlemanly behavior required of men of his stature and fame.

In the historical domain, this biography necessarily beats out most others simply von Neumann was so intimately connected with some of the big scientific and political events of the 21st century (Hungarian education and WWI, Quantum Mechanics, the A-bomb and WWII, the Digital Computer, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and the Cold War, etc.). I once was talking with a professor about von Neumann, and at a certain point he seemed to think that I thought von Neumann's work was greater than Einstein's. I quicky corrected this. However, upon reflection, I now think that while no single theory of von Neumann's is greater than Einstein's General Relativity, when their work is considered and compared as a whole, von Neumann's entire work will probably have a greater impact on the world as time progresses. The computer, for one, has affected domains of science that Einstein's work doesn't touch. Game Theory and Meterology have similar more global effects.

I highly recommend this book for aspiring young scientists and students of any age. It is inspirational to see such a devoted and passionate man, and in my personal life, von Neumann's example has served as a source of considerable encouragement and as a lesson on the greatness of human potential. This book is the best place to encounter von Neumann's exemplary example.