The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann
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- Author：Ananyo Bhattacharya
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Liam
，
"Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my three-year-old son， and the two of them would talk as equals， and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us。" （quoting Edward Teller， xi）"'Now we think of a personal computer as one which you carry around with you，' says mathematician Harry Reed， who joined the project in 1950。 'The ENIAC was actually one that you kind of lived inside。'" （106）"'Robert at Los Alamos was so very great， 。。。 in Britain they "Von Neumann would carry on a conversation with my three-year-old son， and the two of them would talk as equals， and I sometimes wondered if he used the same principle when he talked to the rest of us。" （quoting Edward Teller， xi）"'Now we think of a personal computer as one which you carry around with you，' says mathematician Harry Reed， who joined the project in 1950。 'The ENIAC was actually one that you kind of lived inside。'" （106）"'Robert at Los Alamos was so very great， 。。。 in Britain they would have made him an Earl。 Then， if he walked down the street with his fly buttons undone， people would have said -- look， there goes the Earl。 In postwar America we say -- look， his fly buttons are undone。'" （quoting Von Neumann， 211） 。。。more
Lise
，
I probably should have known well that a biography of a mathematician/physicist wouldn't work well as an audiobook。 I would probably give this another star if I had the print version。A fascinating， difficult man， a definite product of his time。 A VERY scary white man。 A genius。 Probably a nice guy， but not someone I'd want to deal with too often。 I probably should have known well that a biography of a mathematician/physicist wouldn't work well as an audiobook。 I would probably give this another star if I had the print version。A fascinating， difficult man， a definite product of his time。 A VERY scary white man。 A genius。 Probably a nice guy， but not someone I'd want to deal with too often。 。。。more
ANTHONY CUTLER
，
I really wanted to know something about the man but there was little here。 The book mostly sets out von Neumann's work for the general reader。 There won't be much new here for people already interested in "this sort of thing"。Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe， on the development of computing， actually gives a better account of von Neumann， the man。 Dyson certainly gives proper credit to Turing which the current author does not。It's certainly a mark against the book that I e I really wanted to know something about the man but there was little here。 The book mostly sets out von Neumann's work for the general reader。 There won't be much new here for people already interested in "this sort of thing"。Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe， on the development of computing， actually gives a better account of von Neumann， the man。 Dyson certainly gives proper credit to Turing which the current author does not。It's certainly a mark against the book that I ended up rather less impressed with the man than before I started。 It did make me question whether his contributions were so exceptional and so various。 That makes his personality as a self-publicist all the more interesting and sadly neglected。I was intrigued by the mention to the relationship between von Neumann and Strauss， Oppenheimer's nemesis。 I wonder if there is a story to follow up for somebody there。 。。。more
Aneil
，
Outstanding treatment of John von Neumann's ideas， contributions to math， physics， economics， computer and neuroscience， nuclear weapons and blast effectiveness， and。。。Not as much of his life as I would have liked， but I knew that going into based on the WSJ review。 Almost makes me want to start taking a college-level matrix algebra course and beyond。。。good thing I'm too busy being a business school dean！ Outstanding treatment of John von Neumann's ideas， contributions to math， physics， economics， computer and neuroscience， nuclear weapons and blast effectiveness， and。。。Not as much of his life as I would have liked， but I knew that going into based on the WSJ review。 Almost makes me want to start taking a college-level matrix algebra course and beyond。。。good thing I'm too busy being a business school dean！ 。。。more
Charlie Harrington
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A real brain who helped make computer brains。 I enjoyed the separation of each chapter into a specific discipline that von Neumann chomped into: computers， weapons， game theory， cellular automata。 We’re still reeling from his contributions and I’m still working on being able to spout off the ELI5 versions。
Paul
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This book is not the biography it could of been， or that we need， of von Neumann。 The author does an adequate job of exploring fields of thought to which von Neumann contributed。 About the man himself， it's weak beer。 What there is， is mostly anecdotal and without a unifying theme。 The reader closes this book reminded that von Neumann was a polymath who couldn't drive very well， all of which has is available elsewhere and leaving us no closer than before to an understanding and appreciation of v This book is not the biography it could of been， or that we need， of von Neumann。 The author does an adequate job of exploring fields of thought to which von Neumann contributed。 About the man himself， it's weak beer。 What there is， is mostly anecdotal and without a unifying theme。 The reader closes this book reminded that von Neumann was a polymath who couldn't drive very well， all of which has is available elsewhere and leaving us no closer than before to an understanding and appreciation of von Neumann， or at least von Neumann the man。 This book's shortcomings are all the more evident given the era von Neumann lived in。 If there was a lot of primary source research for this book， it does not show。 Coming from the intellectual hothouse of central Europe in the early 20th century， and later working at the heart of many of the great scientific endeavors in modern history， von Neumann must have interacted with， learned from， agreed and argued with many of the century's greatest minds， yet in this book there's strangely little about that。 Instead， there's a focus on people who drew from von Neumann's work later on， but did not know him， and long digressions on how themes von Neumann pioneered developed after his death。 I was hoping for something more like "American Prometheus，" the great biography of von Neumann's contemporary （chronological if not geographic）， Robert Oppenheimer。 The Man From the Future was far from that， and a disappointment。 。。。more
Mike
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Strange book to review。 It certainly doesn't follow the expected beats of a biography。 Rather than follow von Neumann on a personal and professional level throughout his life from beginning to end， the structure is something like this: von Neumann shapes （or helps shape） some mathematical concept which typically has a practical application。 The book will talk about said concept and then branch out to other mathematicians and talk about how they took the concept further or applied it。 This is unu Strange book to review。 It certainly doesn't follow the expected beats of a biography。 Rather than follow von Neumann on a personal and professional level throughout his life from beginning to end， the structure is something like this: von Neumann shapes （or helps shape） some mathematical concept which typically has a practical application。 The book will talk about said concept and then branch out to other mathematicians and talk about how they took the concept further or applied it。 This is unusual given that there are large sections of the book where von Neumann is barely mentioned if at all。 The book chooses to dispense with most of the subject's personal life in favor of focusing heavily on his ground-breaking work in math and science。 I don't think this is a bad idea on its face， but personally I always felt off-balance while reading。 I was never sure how long the book would stick to a subject or group of people。Also I would assume that a lot of the math presented in this book is going to be over most people's heads。 It was for me at least， which isn't saying much but again I would wager this will be the case for most people that aren't in the field。 I would criticize the author for not boiling down the math to something simpler， but who am I to say that's even possible？ Maybe Bhattacharya was doing his best already to simplify everything， which would speak to how brilliant von Neumann and his colleagues were。I could never settle in with this book because it didn't contain much of a through-line。 If you're interested in von Neumann this book does an incredibly thorough job exploring his professional achievements。。。。。。whether you'll understand them or not。。。。。。。。and it spends time talking about a lot of other people too。 Like I said， a strange book to review。PS: I did appreciate learning how much mathematics and philosophy arrive at and tackle the same problems。 Very illuminating。 。。。more
Chris Inman
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Enjoyed it immensely， I confess to never being aware of the extent of this man’s genius， and I can imagine this book only scrapes the surface。 Less enjoyable elements for me were the inability to clearly follow certain sections， like those that go a little deeper into descriptions of pure maths and computer science。 I recognise though that this lack of enjoyment in borne from my own frustrations at not being able to follow - there is nothing the author has done wrong！ 😂 All in all， a great book。 Enjoyed it immensely， I confess to never being aware of the extent of this man’s genius， and I can imagine this book only scrapes the surface。 Less enjoyable elements for me were the inability to clearly follow certain sections， like those that go a little deeper into descriptions of pure maths and computer science。 I recognise though that this lack of enjoyment in borne from my own frustrations at not being able to follow - there is nothing the author has done wrong！ 😂 All in all， a great book。 Perhaps one to re-read to gauge more understanding from a second time。 。。。more
Atti
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The biography John von Neumann deserves， loved every chapter。
Clive F
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One of the hardest things for me is to imagine what it would be like to me much smarter than I am。 It's a general problem: how can smart people （of which I am one） imagine what being super-smart is like？ To scale the problem back， how could a chimp imagine what being a human is like？Well， compared to von Neumann， we all seem to be like chimps。 He started young: when he was six years old， he could converse in Ancient Greek， and divide two eight-digit numbers in his head。 Here was a man who made f One of the hardest things for me is to imagine what it would be like to me much smarter than I am。 It's a general problem: how can smart people （of which I am one） imagine what being super-smart is like？ To scale the problem back， how could a chimp imagine what being a human is like？Well， compared to von Neumann， we all seem to be like chimps。 He started young: when he was six years old， he could converse in Ancient Greek， and divide two eight-digit numbers in his head。 Here was a man who made fundamental contributions to fields as far apart as quantum mechanics， set theory， fluid dynamics， game theory， economics， and computing。 Oh and of course and at one point he became the world's leading expert on shaped charges， which lead him to being a key part of the Manhattan Project。 Some combination of which lead to him developing the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction， which has （arguably） kept nuclear war at bay for the last 70 years。 And he had hobbies， too - a professor of Byzantine history at Princeton apparently once commented that von Neumann knew more about the subject than he did。 So yes， I wanted to read this biography to get some tiny glimpse， from down here in my chimp brain， as to what it might be like to be up there in the clouds。 For me， the book throughly accomplishes this。 We learn about the extraordinary intellectual climate in Budapest in the early 1900s， about the system of advanced schools - Gymnasiums - that existed in Hungary， and into which the young von Neumann was entered。 But these alone don't explain it: one of his school friends was Eugene Wigner:When the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and Martian Eugene Wigner was asked to give his thoughts on the ‘Hungarian phenomenon’， he replied there was no such thing。 There was only one phenomenon that required any explanation。 There was only one Johnny von Neumann。 We are taken on a whirlwind through his life， but at each crucial turn we spend a few pages exploring at least briefly the background to the science or mathematics or whatever that von Neumann was reforming。 I felt this was one of the great strengths of the book: it situates his contributions， so it becomes clear quite how remarkable they were。 The scope of this book is as extraordinary as the man， and I can't possibly do it justice in this review - I beseach you， though， to read the book， as one day we may find that von Neumann's most enduring contribution， the computer， stands as far over all of us as he stood over the rest of us。 。。。more
Luke Eure
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A fascinating man and time。 It has kickstarted what I think will be a trend of me listening to audiobooks about 20th century scientists in the orbit of the atomic bomb。Some interesting bits:- JvN didn't know exactly what applications computers would have to math and physics and science when he started building a computer at the Institute for Advanced Study。 But he believed that going down that path would be fruitful。 A good lesson that the fact that you can't see use cases right now， doesn't alw A fascinating man and time。 It has kickstarted what I think will be a trend of me listening to audiobooks about 20th century scientists in the orbit of the atomic bomb。Some interesting bits:- JvN didn't know exactly what applications computers would have to math and physics and science when he started building a computer at the Institute for Advanced Study。 But he believed that going down that path would be fruitful。 A good lesson that the fact that you can't see use cases right now， doesn't always mean technology isn't worth pursuing。- He had a coalitions-based view of lots of the world。 He thought people would generally try to work together and communicate。 Bhattacharya speculates this is rooted in his Central European background， and that Nash's different approach to game theoretical problems （assumed that people are less likely to coordinate or communicate） is rooted in his own upbringing。 Interesting illustration of how background leads to biases in modelling。- Hadn't fully appreciated how behind the US was in physics and math before it absorbed all the best German scientists in the 30s and 40s。- German science departments that were bombed in ww2 had recovered their research output by the 60s。 But those that lost staff because of people （esp Jews） fleeing Germany were still subpar in the 80s。 Losing staff was 9 times worse than being bombed according to some estimate。 Personnel really matter。 。。。more
Mario Schlosser
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More than a biographyVon Neumann was so interesting that a mere biography of his would surely be a great read - but this book actually goes beyond that: it also gives some great hands-on tutorials to some of his big discoveries， like game theory。 Really satisfying read。 Also， what a human being - exhibit A that someone can be incredibly intelligent， productive， helpful to humankind and not end up holding bizarre libertarian views。
Thi Ha Kyaw
，
Highly recommend it for its interesting storytelling sandwiched between non-technical science made by this very man， who indeed is from the future。 Very inspiring and mind-blowing that he made so many inventions in one single life。
Peter
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Who was the most significant scientist in the 20th century？ Was it Albert Einstein， Niels Bohr， or Prince Louise-Victor Pierre Raymond de Broglie， all Nobel Prize winners？ Or was it perhaps Kurt Gödel， Claude Shannon， or David Hilbert， of whom you may never have heard？ The first three were well known because they were physicists and won Nobel Prizes。 They were unimaths， devoted to their field。 But the last three were mathematicians whose work advanced the foundations for the scientific fields， b Who was the most significant scientist in the 20th century？ Was it Albert Einstein， Niels Bohr， or Prince Louise-Victor Pierre Raymond de Broglie， all Nobel Prize winners？ Or was it perhaps Kurt Gödel， Claude Shannon， or David Hilbert， of whom you may never have heard？ The first three were well known because they were physicists and won Nobel Prizes。 They were unimaths， devoted to their field。 But the last three were mathematicians whose work advanced the foundations for the scientific fields， but for whom there is no Nobel Prize。 Mathematicians must settle for obscurity with a Fields Medal or an Abel Award， or occasionally sneak onto the Physics Nobel list as a rare outsider。 Mathematicians are notorious polymaths who range across the sciences。 When you open Ananyo Bhattachara's The Man from the Future （2021） you'll meet perhaps the 20th century's most prominent polymath—John von Neumann—and as frosting on the cake you'll learn much about the marvelous intellectual advances of the first half of twentieth century。 Bhattachara has immersed himself in these contributions and explains them very clearly。 John von Neumann is perhaps the most significant figure you've never heard of， and he was the anti-mathematician in social life: von Neumann was not a lonely genius lurking in a dark garret。 He was charming and kind， he was a gregarious party person， and he was a voracious thinker。 Born in Budapest in 1903 to an affluent family （his birth name was Jasci）， his father—a businessman—despaired when Jasco showed an early interest mathematics。 But to his father's credit， he found eminent mathematical tutors to assist Jasci， hoping perhaps that they would discourage him from math。 It was not to be—the tutors were stunned by von Neumann's abilities and thought he was perfectly suited for mathematics。 Even in his youth von Neumann was remarkably creative。 At age 17 he completed a first draft of what would become his Habilitation， the European equivalent of a Ph。D。 program's thesis; by age 19 von Neumann had published two significant papers on set theoryAmong the issues he addressed in set theory was the arcane matter of "the set of all sets，" a notion introduced by one of the greatest set theorists， Georg Cantor。 As we know， a set is a collection of all kinds of countable things—natural numbers or teapots， for example。 If you gather all the possible sets together you have a set of all sets， and you have a mind-boggling question: does the set of all sets， being a set， include itself？ Can a set contain itself？ Doesn't this corrupt the notion of a countable set？Von Neumann's early career was spent investigating the new field of quantum theory， particularly the "measurement problem" arising from the apparent fact that a quantum particle simultaneously has multiple states—it is a probabilistic entity that has no definite identity。 But when it is detected by a measurement device， it immediately "collapses" into only one of its many possible states: it can not be measured as it truly is， as a collection of probabilities。 One explanation was that quantum particles were influenced by "local variables，" unseen influences that masked the true character of quantum particles until they are measured。 Einstein pooh-poohed local variables as "spooky action at a distance，" but Von Neumann proved that they were impossible so they could not be the source of the measurement problem。 His "impossibility theorem" was a brilliant proof and it took many years before it was proved wrong。 Another contribution to quantum theory was von Neumann's proof that two competing mathematical approaches—Heisenberg's Matrix Mechanics and Shroedinger's Wave Theory—were in fact， mathematically identical。 This allowed the field to advance without further debates about methods。 Of course， the Wave Theory dominated。 In large part this was because its underlying mathematics was more familiar to physicists。 Heisenberg's lasting contribution was his "uncertainty principle，" a quantum property that had been a stumbling block in his Matrix Mechanics。In 1929 von Neumann emigrated to the U。 S。 where he was offered—and accepted—a lifetime position at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies。 There he debated ideas with the likes of the physicist Albert Einstein and the mathematician Kurt Gödel， who had proved his own impossibility theorem: that no axiomatic system of logic—like that offered by Bertrand Russell and Lord Alfred North Whitehead in their three-volume Principia Mathematica （1910-12）—could be complete; i。e。 could evaluate all possible statements for their truth value。 Von Neumann's was not a sedentary life of pedagogical solitude。 During the war he worked at Los Alamos using his knowledge of the mathematics of lensing to design the trigger for Fat Man。 Since this was the tripping point in the Manhattan Project， it was crucial to the atomic weapons we so fear today。 At Los Alamos and later at RAND Corporation he worked with Herman Kahn， the model for Dr。 Strangelove， on matters of maximal destruction。After the war， John von Neumann was a leading intellect at the new Rand Corporation， an independent nonprofit company founded in 1948 to engage in Research AND Development for military decision-making and， later， development of military weapons。 There he almost single-handedly developed the field of game theory， an essential element in all fields involving human and animal interaction; the mathematician John Nash won a Nobel Prize in Economics for his role in game theory。 During his RAND years， von Neuman， impressed by the new ENIAC computer， became involved in computer architectures， and from that he became interested in the nature of the human brain and in the notion of "replicating automatons"—machines that could reproduce themselves and behave autonomously。 From there he became interested in the biological foundations of life， foundations that created us humans as replicating automatons。John von Neumann died in 1957， at age 53， after a too-short life of constant work。 It's a life， and times， worth knowing about。 Enjoy！ I certainly did。 。。。more
Bru
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Waited awhile for this book and really wanted to like it， pretty disappointed。 Don’t know how such a lackluster book could be written about one of most figures to have ever lived。 Too short to be a true biography and no cohesion/flow。 More a survey of the scientific literature of the era rather than a dive into von Neumann’s life。 Isaacson’s chapter in the innovators about him his more comprehensive。
Kumar Ayush
，
I learnt a few new concepts but neither a lot of information density nor any entertainment。 A lot of it was not about von Neumann at all， just about development in fields that he contributed to。
Andrey Goder
，
I was a bit disappointed the author spent so much time on other people rather than von Neumann。 A large part of the book is background on the science/current events of the time and discusses various other persons， whereas I wanted more of a biography focusing on von Neumann himself。 There's not much discussion about his personal life or what he was really like， merely a summary of his work。 I was a bit disappointed the author spent so much time on other people rather than von Neumann。 A large part of the book is background on the science/current events of the time and discusses various other persons， whereas I wanted more of a biography focusing on von Neumann himself。 There's not much discussion about his personal life or what he was really like， merely a summary of his work。 。。。more
Bagus
，
I want to give this book 4 stars despite the fact that I found it a bit difficult to follow the ideas discussed in this biography。 As many other reviews have mentioned， this book is unlike any traditional biography。 The approach of the author is more like describing von Neumann’s ideas， and then quickly followed by more recent findings or further developments to the ideas by other scientists or scholars from other fields who found the use of von Neumann’s ideas in their respective fields。 Now， w I want to give this book 4 stars despite the fact that I found it a bit difficult to follow the ideas discussed in this biography。 As many other reviews have mentioned， this book is unlike any traditional biography。 The approach of the author is more like describing von Neumann’s ideas， and then quickly followed by more recent findings or further developments to the ideas by other scientists or scholars from other fields who found the use of von Neumann’s ideas in their respective fields。 Now， who is really John von Neumann？ Other scientists of his age often jokingly called him The Man from the Future as the title of the book suggests。 His fingerprints are everywhere， even on the device I’m using now to type this review。 But I only came to know his name while reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Einstein。John von Neumann was born Neumann János Lanos in 1903 in Budapest to an ennobled Jewish family， for their service to the Austro-Hungarian Empire （the ennoblement happened in 1913）。 He came to use various aliases throughout his life， such as Johann Neumann von Margitta during his time studying in Germany and later settled with John von Neumann or Johnny when he became an American citizen in the 1930s。 As I’ve said above， only a few parts of the book actually contain references to von Neumann’s actual life， with a large part of the book dedicated to von Neumann’s ideas。 But it’s not without any reason。 For von Neumann， ideas might as well be something that describes his life。 Ever since his childhood， thinking had become something he enjoyed doing on a daily basis， and he got paid for it （one of von Neumann’s primary motivations in life was reportedly money）。He got famous first and foremost because of his contribution to the field of mathematics， but what makes von Neumann different from other scientists of his time was his way to find wide applications of his theories even in other fields that might not seem to be related at all to mathematics。 The nuclear bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were reportedly dropped on a certain height above the ground following the calculations from von Neumann， in order to maximise the impact on the towns below。 His other contribution in game theory， now a discipline of economics， first came into being in 1928 with his publication of minimax theorem that establishes that in zero-sum games with perfect information， there exists a pair of strategies for both players to minimise their maximum losses。 Some of his theories would find critics at a later time， but mostly the critics were there in order to complete his theories rather than repudiating them。 For example， mathematician John Nash， who would be awarded Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 and whose life is chronicled by Sylvia Nasar in A Beautiful Mind， developed von Neumann’s foundation on game theory into the Nash equilibrium to define a solution for non-cooperative games with two or more players with often incompatible goals， that finds use in decision makings for large corporations and the military。As the subtitle suggests， John von Neumann was indeed visionary for his time。 The last theory he worked on in the last years of his life in the 1950s was about the theory of automata， which largely explains about a machine or a structure that could replicate itself， something that in time would find its larger use， particularly in the development of artificial intelligence， although the term would only be coined by John McCarthy several years later。 Von Neumann’s automata theory also found its use in the field of biology， notably inspiring some biologists working in the replication of DNA。 The computers and gadgets that we use to contain more or less the systems first developed by von Neumann， with regards to the development of algorithms used in the first computer， and also the automata theory that followed。 “If people do not believe that mathematics is simple，” von Neumann once said， “it is only because they do not realise how complicated life is。” 。。。more
Jeremy
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Note: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley。I liked this book。 It provided a look into one of the prominent scientists of the twentieth century。 It's just insane how many different areas von Neumann worked on。 This was a fascinating look into a lot of of the backstory into computing。 Note: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley。I liked this book。 It provided a look into one of the prominent scientists of the twentieth century。 It's just insane how many different areas von Neumann worked on。 This was a fascinating look into a lot of of the backstory into computing。 。。。more
Feras
，
A hardworking genius born in a supportive family and had the fortunate circumstances that allowed him to shine and influence the trajectory of human advances。 After finishing this book， I wondered how many prodigy kids like him were unlucky and passed through life without utilising their gift as he did， and where would we be now if all those were allowed to contribute。
Budd Margolis
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It is difficult to explain all the concepts that Neumann either helped create or define or perfect or dream of but this story is truly incredible。So much of our computing， AI， game theory and much more owe a huge debt to Neumann。 His name should be as well known as an Einstein and I urge anyone interested in the development and use of scientific concepts， computing and development to read this book。
Neil Evans
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The Last Man to Know EverythingJohn von Neumann was an eclectic mathematician and early computer scientist。 All modern computers' except large-scale parallel processing computers， are built on "von Neumann architecture。"。 He invented new fields of math and physics， including Game Theory，Quantum Mechanics and others。 Worth reading。 The Last Man to Know EverythingJohn von Neumann was an eclectic mathematician and early computer scientist。 All modern computers' except large-scale parallel processing computers， are built on "von Neumann architecture。"。 He invented new fields of math and physics， including Game Theory，Quantum Mechanics and others。 Worth reading。 。。。more
Lloyd Fassett
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2/27/22 The Wall St Jounal has a very positive review。 The review makes it clear that this is about the man's ideas much more so than a biography。 The author sounds exceptional at describing complex ideas。 There are two chapters on Game Theory as well。 2/27/22 The Wall St Jounal has a very positive review。 The review makes it clear that this is about the man's ideas much more so than a biography。 The author sounds exceptional at describing complex ideas。 There are two chapters on Game Theory as well。 。。。more
Christopher Owens
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Subtitle: The Visionary Life of John von NeumannJohn von Neumann was a Hungarian mathematician， chemist， and physicist who immigrated to the United States just prior to World War II。 While he rivaled Albert Einstein in intellect， he is known more for the applications he envisioned than for the theoretical aspects of science that Einstein is famous for。 von Neumann did a lot of work for the U。S。 government and military， and is rumored to have worked on the project that allegedly resulted in the i Subtitle: The Visionary Life of John von NeumannJohn von Neumann was a Hungarian mathematician， chemist， and physicist who immigrated to the United States just prior to World War II。 While he rivaled Albert Einstein in intellect， he is known more for the applications he envisioned than for the theoretical aspects of science that Einstein is famous for。 von Neumann did a lot of work for the U。S。 government and military， and is rumored to have worked on the project that allegedly resulted in the infamous but unproven Philadelphia Experiment and to have worked on the UFO enigma on behalf of the Majestic 12 group （if such group actually existed）。This book had more detailed math and science in it than I anticipated from a biography。 While there are a lot of personal details concerning his early years and education， by the time he came to the U。S。 and began advising the government， a lot of the personal details of his activities were lacking。 There is a very detailed and interesting history of von Neumann’s involvement in the development of the atom bomb， but this reader found similar sections about his involvement in game theory and the development of self-replicating computers to be overly dull。In many ways， John von Neumann was a man ahead of his time。 Many of the theories and concepts for applying scientific knowledge are still prominent today， in spite of the fact that von Neumann died nearly 70 years ago。 I definitely learned a lot about von Neumann’s life and ideas， but would have enjoyed the book more if it involved less of the dry science aspect and more of the subject’s life and activities during the 1940s and 50s。I gave The Man From the Future three stars on Goodreads。 I ended up skimming a lot of the last half of the book because it focused so much on very specific and detailed aspects of what other scientists have done with von Neumann’s theory’s than on the man himself。 。。。more
Žiga
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Got it as a gift。 A recounting of some strands of 20th century science interspersed with biographical elements rather than a biography proper， but an enjoyable read all the same。
Emre Sevinç
，
What an excellent biography of a remarkable and visionary man！ John von Neumann could be considered "first among equals" during his lifetime， and as far as I remember from a documentary some years ago， the famous mathematician Paul R。 Halmos， having worked as an assistant to von Neumann had said something along the lines of "von Neumann jumped from one topic to another， if he fully concentrated on pure math， we probably would regard him as the next Euler。" Indeed， sometimes I wonder what would h What an excellent biography of a remarkable and visionary man！ John von Neumann could be considered "first among equals" during his lifetime， and as far as I remember from a documentary some years ago， the famous mathematician Paul R。 Halmos， having worked as an assistant to von Neumann had said something along the lines of "von Neumann jumped from one topic to another， if he fully concentrated on pure math， we probably would regard him as the next Euler。" Indeed， sometimes I wonder what would happen if von Neumann lived as long as Euler， without being bothered with wars and threats of an unprecedented scale。I enjoyed this biography very much not only because the author managed to portray the complex character of von Neumann， as a world-renowned genius and the bearer of a great intellectual tradition， but he also provided the reader with abalanced and not watered-down descriptions of the great man's work together with all of the interesting collaborations he managed to pull。 I don't consider this an easy task， given the breadth of von Neumann's seminal contributions to so many fields in science， mathematics， economy， and of course， computing machinery as we know it。I also learned interesting bits of computing history， for example I didn't know that his wife， Klára Dán von Neuman， was among the first computer programmers in the second half of 1940s。 If you are into the history of mathematics， physics， game theory， economics， computers and artificial intelligence， I suggest that you prepare your favorite drink， grab this book， fasten your seat-belts， and enjoy the ride， reading about the accomplishments of probably the brightest minds to have ever visited us on Earth in the previous century。 。。。more
Nikolay
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Humbling and Inspiring。 Enjoyable read too。 Life and work of von Neumann through different times of 20th century。 Touching many other famous people of the era。 Incredible audiobook for two evenings。
Glenn Myers
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Though not really a biography （as many have pointed out） this excellent book tells the story of John von Neumann and his work in maths， quantum theory， atomic bomb design， computers， and automatons or self-replicating machines。 The author shows where von Neumann fits in each subject， and where things went afterwards。 An unusual mathematician whose fruitful years spanned almost his whole life， at times shuttled around the US by plane from project to project， his story is eye-opening。 This is a re Though not really a biography （as many have pointed out） this excellent book tells the story of John von Neumann and his work in maths， quantum theory， atomic bomb design， computers， and automatons or self-replicating machines。 The author shows where von Neumann fits in each subject， and where things went afterwards。 An unusual mathematician whose fruitful years spanned almost his whole life， at times shuttled around the US by plane from project to project， his story is eye-opening。 This is a really enjoyable， worthwhile， contribution to the history of 2oth century science。 。。。more
Matt
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This book is only nominally about John von Neumann。 It was disappointing and painful to read。
Maurizio Codogno
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