The Essential John Nash (Hardcover)

by John Nash (Author), Harold William Kuhn (Editor), Sylvia Nasar (Editor) "Game theory emanates from studies of games such as chess or poker..." (more)
Key Phrases: imbedding functions, closed differentiable manifold, imbedding problem, Princeton University Press, David Gale, Reinhard Selten (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
One of the most beautifully designed economics books I have ever seen and at a low price. -- Ariel Rubinstein, The Times Higher Education Supplement

One of the most beautifully designed economics books I have ever seen and at a low price. . . . Why are we so intrigued by the story of John Nash? We are curious to understand a person who proves theorems we are unable to fathom. We imagine the voices from another world he has heard. We ask where he was for 30 years during which he walked among us but wasn¹t here. We are frightened and we are attracted by this combination of 'crazy' and 'genius', an invitation for visiting the edge of our own minds. -- Review

[This book] explains [Nash's] work and reprints his most famous papers. It is just as amazing as his personal story. -- Chris Giles, Financial Times

Review
If you want to see a sugary Hollywood depiction of John Nash's life, go to the cinema. Afterwards, if you are curious about his insights, pick up a new book that explains his work and reprints his most famous papers. It is just as amazing as his personal story.
(Chris Giles Financial Times )

One of the most beautifully designed economics books I have ever seen and at a low price. . . . Why are we so intrigued by the story of John Nash? We are curious to understand a person who proves theorems we are unable to fathom. We imagine the voices from another world he has heard. We ask where he was for 30 years during which he walked among us but wasn't here. We are frightened and we are attracted by this combination of 'crazy' and 'genius', an invitation for visiting the edge of our own minds.
(Ariel Rubinstein The Times Higher Education Supplement )

Any mathematician who read A Beautiful Mind . . . had to be looking for the appendices--the ones explaining what Nash actually did to earn his formidable reputation within the mathematical community. Well, here they are, in a beautifully produced volume. . . . Kuhn, Nasar, and the other contributors have performed a most welcome service by collaborating to bring together the pieces missing from A Beautiful Mind. . . . The mathematical community is eternally in their debt.
(SIAM News )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691095272
• ISBN-13: 978-0691095271
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,387 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

173 of 185 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Reading, January 5, 2002

By	Kip Piper "Medicare & Medicaid Consultant" (www.KipPiper.com) - See all my reviews

Even without the Nobel Prize for Economics, the outstanding movie by Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind"), or the exceptional biography by Sylvia Nasar (also "A Beautiful Mind"), Professor John Nash would a legend. While cursed with severe mental illness, Dr. Nash was and is an extraordinary man. His contributions to game theory were so ahead of their time it took over 30 years for economists and business leaders to apply them fully. When they were applied, they advanced everything from international trade talks and arms control treaties, to radio frequency auctions and the study of evolutionary biology. Dr. Nash's work has had a profound, highly practical impact on negotiation and decision making throughout business and government. He created a path toward win-win solutions to complex, multi-party agreements.

This book is largely a collection of Dr. Nash's own writings, each a significant contribution to mathematics or economics. Nash's papers are thoughtfully introduced and explained - thankfully so given the complexity of Nash's writings. Also included is Nash's own touching and revealing autobiography.

The result is a compelling glimpse inside the thought processes of a genius - a beautiful mind indeed. Thanks to Harold Kuhn and Sylvia Nasar for pulling this wonderful collection together.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the genius of Nash, June 25, 2002

By A Customer

I bought this book for my husband who has a PhD in Economics. I was relieved that although he had learned many of Nash's theories this book still provided new ideas. I do not have the mathematical background like my husband, but I can still follow the arguements and theories. I like this book. I was surprised at how relevant his ideas are to not only academic disciplines but also to decision making in daily life. Truly, only by exploring a person's ideas can we come close to knowing a person. Only by reading the writings of Nash can we come close to appreciating and understanding the genius of John Nash.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story of John Nash through mathematics, September 27, 2002

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

It is indeed a rare occasion when a mathematician is the subject of a popular, award winning movie. John Nash was the subject of the recent hit movie, "A Beautiful Mind." However, that is almost totally due to the human interest aspects of his battle with paranoid schizophrenia rather than his mathematics. The focus of this book is on his advances in mathematics, done by reproducing his early papers.
Like so many excellent mathematicians, Nash also did some work in recreational mathematics, and he independently invented the game now known as Hex. Played on a board of hexagonal sections, the object is to create a continuous chain of your color from one side to the other. A short chapter explains the basis of the game, although it does not do justice to the complexity .
Nash's work in game theory is outstanding, and the reason why he won the Nobel prize in economics. The bulk of the book is a recreation of his seminal work in this area, with his Ph. D. thesis being presented twice. The first is a photocopy of the work and the second is the thesis in text form. In reading the material, it is easy to see why it has applications in so many areas.
Nash was also interested in computing and he wrote an imaginative paper on parallel computing, which is included in the book. Given the state of computing at the time it was written, it shows imagination and fundamental understanding of the basics of computing.
The last two papers in the book deal with manifolds. The first concerns real algebraic manifolds and the second examines abstract Riemannian manifolds. Once again, you can see aspects of genius in the papers and avenues for further exploration.
It is a mathematical tragedy that John Nash was almost totally unable to work for so many years. In fact, when it was announced that he had won the Nobel prize, many were surprised to hear that he was still alive. In reading these papers from the early years of his career, it is clear to see that had he not became ill, he would have had a shot at being labeled the best mathematician of the century. Long after memories of the movie have faded away, Nash's work will still be applied to the problems of the world.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.