The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann
The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann book cover

The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann

by
Price
$16.19
Format
Hardcover
Pages
368
Publisher
W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1324003991
Dimensions
6.3 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
Weight
1.4 pounds

Description

"[Bhattacharya's] crystal-clear prose…mak[es] for a tour de force of enjoyable science writing….[A] marvelously bracing biography of the ideas of John von Neumann, ideas that continue to grow and flourish with a life of their own." ― Stephen Budiansky, Wall Street Journal "Vivid…[ The Man From the Future is] devoted to exploring the ideas and technological inquiries [von Neumann] inspired." ― Jennifer Szalai, New York Times "Lucid and rewarding….Bhattacharya composes a rich intellectual map of von Neumann’s pursuits, shading in their histories and evolutions, and tracing the routes and connections between them." ― Samanth Subramanian, The New Republic "Examines the tremendous impact von Neumann had on various scientific disciplines in eight exceptional chapters." ― Dov Greenbaum and Mark Gerstein, Science "Rather like the books of Stephen Hawking or Carlo Rovelli…this one is rewarding on different levels. Everyone can grasp the significance of the puzzles posed, and if readers want to follow the genius through the steps of his solutions then Bhattacharya is a clear and authoritative guide." ― The Economist "Offers us a striking portrait of a man who contributed as much to the technological transformation of the world as any other scientist of the 20th century…[A]lways engaging and generally illuminating." ― David Nirenberg, The Nation "Non-Euclidean geometry, set theory, the prisoner’s dilemma, Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, self-replicating machines, game theory and nonlocality are among the astonishing range of topics that science journalist Ananyo Bhattacharya covers as he takes us on a whistle-stop tour through Von Neumann’s restless mind…[A] splendid new biography." ― Manjit Kumar, Guardian "Bhattacharya both begins and concludes this impressive biography of John von Neumann by celebrating his contribution to the 'march of ideas.'" ― Francis P. Sempa, New York Journal of Books "Bhattacharya tells the story tremendously well, situating von Neumann’s work―in fields from quantum mechanics to game theory to cellular automata―as comfortably as I’ve ever seen it done. He’s also good at deadpan humor." ― David Bodanis, Financial Times "Bhattacharya is a first-class science writer with an impeccable pedigree and he does the best job I have seen of explaining the significance of von Neumann's work across many different fields… A fine tribute to von Neumann's genius and his contributions to science." ― John Gribbin, Literary Review "[An] agile, intelligent, intellectually enraptured account of Von Neumann’s life." ― Simon Ings, Sunday Telegraph "Any future intelligence capable of sending a representative back in time to help invent itself will be intelligent enough to conceal this from us. Ananyo Bhattacharya’s The Man from the Future is therefore unable to confirm this suggestion, but much else about John von Neumann’s presence in the twentieth century is revealed along the way." ― George Dyson, author of Turing's Cathedral "Despite his central contributions to the theory of computation, economics, logic, complexity, and quantum physics, somehow John von Neumann never became a household name to rival Einstein and Feynman. Ananyo Bhattacharya’s biography deserves to change that. Consistently clear and careful without sacrificing elegance or accessibility, it does full justice to this legendary figure of twentieth-century science." ― Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird "An engaging and fascinating book that blends science and history. I loved it." ― Paul Davies, author of The Demon in the Machine "This is a sparkling book, with an intoxicating mix of pen-portraits and grand historical narrative. Above all, it fizzes with a dizzying mix of deliciously vital ideas. The Man from the Future is a staggering achievement." ― Tim Harford, author of How to Make the World Add Up "More than just a biography, The Man from the Future elucidates the breath-taking scientific progress in the mid-20th century, skillfully woven together in the story of one man, John von Neumann." ― Sabine Hossenfelder, author of Lost in Math "A gripping tale of the most significant mathematical, scientific and geopolitical events of the early 20th century. Bhattacharya’s storytelling seamlessly weaves together the science, the vibrant social and historical context, and the private idiosyncrasies of John von Neumann and the fascinating geniuses around him, without mythologizing." ― Andrew Steele, author of Ageless "Sharp, expansive….A salient portrait of one of the most electrifying and productive scientists of the past century." ― Kirkus Reviews Ananyo Bhattacharya ,xa0who holds a PhD in biophysics from Imperial College London, has worked as a science correspondent at the Economist , an editor at Nature , and a medical researcher at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in San Diego, California. He lives in London.

Features & Highlights

  • An electrifying biography of one of the most extraordinary scientists of the twentieth century and the world he made.
  • The smartphones in our pockets and computers like brains. The vagaries of game theory and evolutionary biology. Nuclear weapons and self-replicating spacecrafts. All bear the fingerprints of one remarkable, yet largely overlooked, man: John von Neumann.
  • Born in Budapest at the turn of the century, von Neumann is one of the most influential scientists to have ever lived. A child prodigy, he mastered calculus by the age of eight, and in high school made lasting contributions to mathematics. In Germany, where he helped lay the foundations of quantum mechanics, and later at Princeton, von Neumann’s colleagues believed he had the fastest brain on the planet―bar none. He was instrumental in the Manhattan Project and the design of the atom bomb; he helped formulate the bedrock of Cold War geopolitics and modern economic theory; he created the first ever programmable digital computer; he prophesized the potential of nanotechnology; and, from his deathbed, he expounded on the limits of brains and computers―and how they might be overcome.
  • Taking us on an astonishing journey, Ananyo Bhattacharya explores how a combination of genius and unique historical circumstance allowed a single man to sweep through a stunningly diverse array of fields, sparking revolutions wherever he went.
  • The Man from the Future
  • is an insightful and thrilling intellectual biography of the visionary thinker who shaped our century.
  • 12 illustrations

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

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(294)
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Most Helpful Reviews

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More of a Science Book than a Biography of a Famous Scientist

Von Neumann was one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, making seminal contributions to physics, math, computing, and game theory, and other fields. This biography, however, often loses sight of the person, because the author seems more interested in technical discussions about von Neumann's ideas. I enjoyed more the descriptions of his early life in Europe, plus his later experiences in America. Unfortunately, these parts of the book are few and far between. The author, in my opinion, does not explain well, and goes into excessive detail about, many of the subject areas that Von Neumann wrote about. In fact there are more pages devoted to scientists who worked on von Neumann's ideas than on the man himself. Some of these, such as game theory, are worth discussing in some detail, but others are not (for example, the design of the atomic bomb developed during WW 2 at Los Alamos). In addition, the very lengthy discussion about computing frankly became boring. Overall, I think that a genius of the caliber of Von Neumann deserves an actual biography.
18 people found this helpful
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Great! But technically flawed.

This is a very good biography of John von Neumann, who was the most influential scientist of the 20th Century--and arguably, of all time.

His contributions include the idea and implementation of a digital computer that stores programs in the same memory as the data. He invented game theory, along with Oskar Morgenstern. Game theory is now a central subject in microeconomics. Several Nobel Laureates in Economics have been awarded their prize for work in game theory.
He employed game theory to devise the Cold War doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction.
We're still here, and free from almost all external threats, thanks to Von Neumann, Pope John Paul II, Lech Walensa, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and many, many others. The West prevailed and won the "Cold War without firing a shot," as Margaret Thatcher famously said of Ronald Reagan. It's impossible to understand how unimaginable this outcome was, unless you were aware of geopolitical affairs well before the fall of the Berlin Wall--which none of us ever expected to see. Until a miracle occurred!

Von Neumann was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb. He was the leading mind working on the Manhattan Project, along with Enrico Fermi and Richard Feynman. He was also one of the two men most responsible for the hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb, along with Edward Teller.

He conceived of a device that could, given sufficient resources, duplicate itself--and therefore, reproduce itself and infinitum! This was a staggering achievement--and he did it long before Watson and Crick elucidated the workings of DNA and microbiology!

He did important early work on the foundations of mathematics. In one short paper of about a dozen pages or so, he made short work of what had required three volumes of quaint nonsense known as "Principia Mathematica," by Russell and Whitehead! 😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂

His most important contributions to pure mathematics are in his papers on "rings of operators," coauthored by F.J. Murray. These objects are now called "Von Neumann Algebras." (I believe that this terminology is attributable to the great French mathematician and founding member of Bourbaki, Jean Dieudonne.)

It is here that the author's mathematical limitations are most apparent. He is absolutely out of his depth on this subject. His discussion of the work of Von Neumann, Goedel, and Turing on mathematical logic aren't any better.

On the other hand, he does a fine job of explaining Von Neumann's work on game theory and general equilibrium in macroeconomics.

I lack the competence to comment on his discussions of the atomic and hydrogen bombs. I will say, however, that they made my eyes glaze over.

All in all, this is an important book. It is far and away the best biography of John von Neumann, who did probably more than anyone in the past century to create the world of today.

He was the greatest mathematician of the first half of the twentieth Century.

His work was worthy of two Nobel Prizes (physics and economics), a Fields Medal, an Abel Prize and the Alan Turing Award. (Some of these didn't exist during his lifetime.)

Among Twentieth Century mathematicians, he was unsurpassed, until Alexander Grothendieck appeared on the scene!

Grothendieck's life story is unparalleled in the history of thought. It begs for an epic movie to tell it!

Are you listening, Ron Howard?
12 people found this helpful
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Only adequate

John von Neumann was one of the smartest people that ever lived, with an intellect so extraordinary that ordinary mortals can scarcely imagine it. He made remarkable contributions in many areas of pure and applied mathematics as well laying the foundations for the modern computer.

This rather dryly written biography focusses mainly on five of the areas in which von Neumann worked - quantum mechanics, game theory, cellular automata, the Manhattan Project and development of computers. Strangely, for someone who claims to have a physics PhD from Imperial College, London (where I earned my PhD), the technical explanations are rather discombobulated, which will serve only to confuse the layman and annoy the expert. Also, too much space is devoted to biographical details of some of von Neumann's coworkers and not enough to von Neumann himself.

Still, this book is worth reading if only to catch a glimpse of one of the most remarkable intellects the world has ever seen.
7 people found this helpful
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An astonishing book about an astonishing man

A book about one of the most brilliant people of the 20th century, who made stunning contributions in several distinct fields (math, physics, computing, weapons, synthetic biology...) . JvN should be as much of a household name as Einstein.
The greatest accomplishment of the book is the clear and accurate description of von Neuman's work, simplifying but not at the expense of accuracy. The author does this across all the fields JvN traversed - a remarkable achievement in its own right. He clearly understands the work in depth, yet has the literary skill to tell the story in an extremely clear and interesting way.
Bravo!!!
4 people found this helpful
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Not what I was expecting

This is an interesting book that explores the brilliant ideas of Johnny von Neumann, but I was expecting more details about the man himself. The majority of the book is devoted to describing how his ideas evolved and transformed into major subjects or transformation technology. This does not diminish his historical significance, but it was different from what I anticipated.

Von Neumann is mentioned in a lot of different books but there are always few details. He seems to have been regarded as the most intelligent person in the room amongst the most intelligent people in the world. This book is a testament to that and shows the enormous impact that a single individual can have. Von Neumann was obsessed with and loved thinking; and thinking is ultimately responsible for the advanced and prosperous society we live in today.

Recommend the book, but unfortunately I will still have to wait for more details about the life of this brilliant individual.
3 people found this helpful
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Unexciting Recitation of Facts

John von Neumann's life and work. Fair coverage of complicated topics, but generally dull. Too much recitation of facts without any suspense or excitement.
3 people found this helpful
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Too Smart For Me

It is apparent the author has a tremendous amount of respect for his subject. Also, perhaps only an author that was a physicist or mathematician could truly understand and convey the depths and importance of the research and findings of his subject. I finished the book with a sense that John von Neumann may have been the smartest person on the planet. However, I also found the book tough sledding in some parts.

The story was easy to follow on the actual biography of von Neumann’s life, the cast of historical characters was well drawn, and the work on bombs was straightforward. My work made me comfortable with the bits on game theory, but on the pure math theory it has been a long time since I’ve looked at cardinality and I was out of my depth when it came to trying to understand the intellectual clashes on aspects of quantum mechanics. The other sled rut was replicators. I felt the author could have talked about von Neumann’s universal constructor and then wrapped up how it became a springboard for many things we use today in a few pages. Instead, a sixth of a book is a series of short pieces on those involved in subsequent research and theory.

I became aware that I already knew of von Neumann through game theory, but was completely unaware of his other work. I am thankful for the introduction. For some of the rest, frankly, I may not be smart enough to be the target audience for the book.
3 people found this helpful
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Not what I was expecting

This is an interesting book that explores the brilliant ideas of Johnny von Neumann, but I was expecting more details about the man himself. The majority of the book is devoted to describing how his ideas evolved and transformed into major subjects or transformation technology. This does not diminish his historical significance, but it was different from what I anticipated.

Von Neumann is mentioned in a lot of different books but there are always few details. He seems to have been regarded as the most intelligent person in the room amongst the most intelligent people in the world. This book is a testament to that and shows the enormous impact that a single individual can have. Von Neumann was obsessed with and loved thinking; and thinking is ultimately responsible for the advanced and prosperous society we live in today.

Recommend the book, but unfortunately I will still have to wait for more details about the life of this brilliant individual.
2 people found this helpful
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A terrific read!

Thankfully, this is well written as more of a biography of von Neumann’s ideas. A fascinating and engaging book.
2 people found this helpful
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Nice overview of the life and scientific vision of John von Neumann

John von Neumann was a gifted scientist and mathematician of exceptional talent. His ideas and achievements continue to reverberate in the modern world and this biography looks at the man and his research and the relevance of the research in modern terms. It is entertaining and informative and is worth reading for those interested in science and engineering.

The book starts with von Neumann's family background. He lived in an erudite environment and his family was elevated through his father's merits to noble status. The intellectual vibrancy of the time is introduced as is the early academic system von Neumann learnt under. His fellow students in those years included Eugene Wigner and as such those formative years were certain to have influenced his personal progress. The author brings up early ideas that von Neumann worked on and discusses his early work on set theory and his solution to self-referential sets, bringing his brilliance into the narrative immediately. The author moves on to von Neumann's axiomatization of quantum mechanics and his distilling of the structure for both physicists and mathematicians. Within this framework he also showed that the theory cannot have hidden variables, though eventually that claim was disputed by others including Bell. But the author highlights how flexible von Neumann's mind is to enter a subject only to write a definitive work on it.

That same brilliance is then used to describe the growth of modern computing and Von Neumann's contribution. In particular how the von Neumann architecture was introduced and its simplicity articulated is the next subject. There was certainly controversy surrounding the originality of von Neumann's ideas as he did not come to the entire design in a vacuum, but despite competing claims it is clear the von Neumann was able to see the potential of new ideas and their use in technology and distill them into a framework that the world could leverage. The author discusses his overlap with Turing at the IAS and how the two must have discussed computation and machines though there is little record.

The author then moves on to von Neumann's role in developing game theory. Such a subject was at best in the partial domain of economics but with Morgenstern (though primarily von Neumann) the theory of games was described and solved in various settings and the ideas of how to solve 0-sum games was established. Furthermore the proof techniques for existence and uniqueness ended up being the same tools used by Nash later for larger sets of games with less rigid rules. Ultimately von Neumann created a whole new field of math and economics that ended up guiding strategic thinking at Rand and eventually much more policy driven applications. The book ends with some more out there ideas of self replicating machines, which von Neumann hypothesized about to colonize other planets. Such ideas sound like modern 3-d printing highlighting again the implicit visionary conceptualization that occurred within his mind.

The biography of von Neumann is both readable and informative and gives the reader a basic understanding of the fields that von Neumann influenced deeply. Remarkably this included a wide breadth of subjects from quantum mechanics to economics to physics. One gets a sense of the man but more his science and interests. Definitely a worthwhile read though at times you feel like you havent learnt enough about his life nor about the details of the work and so one must look further for a more complete picture of the man and his science.
1 people found this helpful

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