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Named One of the 10 Best Books of 2023 by The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly • One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2023• A National Bestseller • A New York Times Editor's Choice pick • Nominated for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

“Captivating and unclassifiable, at once a historical novel and a philosophical foray . . . Labatut is a writer of thrilling originality. The MANIAC is a work of dark, eerie and singular beauty.” —The Washington Post
 
“Darkly absorbing . . . A brooding, heady narrative that is addictively interesting.” —Wall Street Journal

From one of contemporary literature’s most exciting new voices, a haunting story centered on the Hungarian polymath John von Neumann, tracing the impact of his singular legacy on the dreams and nightmares of the twentieth century and the nascent age of AI

Benjamín Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World electrified a global readership. A Booker Prize and National Book Award finalist, and one of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year, it explored the life and thought of a clutch of mathematicians and physicists who took science to strange and sometimes dangerous new realms. In The MANIAC, Labatut has created a tour de force on an even grander scale.

A prodigy whose gifts terrified the people around him, John von Neumann transformed every field he touched, inventing game theory and the first programable computer, and pioneering AI, digital life, and cellular automata. Through a chorus of family members, friends, colleagues, and rivals, Labatut shows us the evolution of a mind unmatched and of a body of work that has unmoored the world in its wake.

The MANIAC places von Neumann at the center of a literary triptych that begins with Paul Ehrenfest, an Austrian physicist and friend of Einstein, who fell into despair when he saw science and technology become tyrannical forces; it ends a hundred years later, in the showdown between the South Korean Go Master Lee Sedol and the AI program AlphaGo, an encounter embodying the central question of von Neumann's most ambitious unfinished project: the creation of a self-reproducing machine, an intelligence able to evolve beyond human understanding or control.

A work of beauty and fabulous momentum, The MANIAC confronts us with the deepest questions we face as a species.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (October 1, 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593654498
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593654491
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.48 x 0.74 x 8.36 inches
Reviewer: eapdog
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Fiction that reads like a biography.
Review: When I started this novel, I had to look back on the cover to be sure I was reading fiction. This book carefully and skillfully combines actual events with imagined dialogue, etc. that gives the reader the impression that she is witnessing things as they really happened. This novel tells a story of what obsession does to two individuals who are clearly geniuses and how they adjust to adversity. MANIAC, by the way, refers to the code name of an early computer, but by extension can also be applied to how these individuals interact with the world. Definitely worth reading!

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: 3.5 Intense. Impactful. Genius vs insanity. On the edge.
Review: I noticed that approximate reading time is 7+ hrs, which was not true for me. The information contained in this seriously researched look at a great, cracked mind. I reread many pages because there was a learning curve in an area not familiar for me. I am thoroughly interested in 'how things work, especially the brain (in any living creature, but especially humans), that this portrayal added to my interest in genius traits, family of origin commonalities, & compulsive indulgence of science.This is masterfully written, and the author transported the reader to walk alongside each character.I deliberately read & reread certain concepts because I wanted to understand the genesis of changing the consumption of knowledge. Knowing is available for anyone with technology and ability to learn.A worthy read for those who read non- fiction, science history, AI and all things related to computing.

Reviewer: Timothy Haugh
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Explores the Meaning of Intelligence
Review: This novel turned out to be something different than I expected. I thought the title referred to the fact that John von Neumann was often considered crazy by the people around him, and, indeed, that is part of what is going on here. From the very first pages, however, the title takes on much more meaning.“Maniac” is a term that could be applied to any number of scientists. There is something about the intellectual nature of the work that seems to make mental illness much more common among the highest achievers in fields like physics and math. Instead of von Neumann, the book opens with the story of Paul Ehrenfest, a friend of Einstein’s, whose struggles with depression lead to a shocking and tragic conclusion.In von Neumann’s story, my favorite part is his encounter with Kurt Godel when he puts forth his incompleteness theorem for the first time. Among the powerful mathematicians who hear his talk, only von Neumann understands Godel (another person who struggled mightily with mental illness), and this understanding changes the course of von Neumann’s life. It is said that Godel was the only mind von Neumann thought was greater than his own, and changed his work from pure mathematics to the foundations of computer science that would dominate the rest of his life.In fact, the obvious reference in the title is to the prototype computer that von Neumann built, called the MANIAC. The impact this machine had on his life and work is difficult to underestimate. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he used his machine mainly for military purposes, it is underrepresented in the history of computer development. The way he was hounded about secrets even onto his deathbed is shocking.But, for me, I think the most entertaining and interesting part of the book is the description of the Go competition between the AI AlphaGo and Lee Sedol, one of the greatest human Go players ever. Move 37 and move 78 will forever be touchstones for me as I think about what it means to have taken steps towards true human-like intelligence.Yes, this book is something different than I expected, and The Maniac is an exquisitely apt title. It’s a novel that seems to hue so close to real life that it feels like non-fiction. But, however you want to categorize it, The Maniac is a truly excellent book.

Reviewer: Tariq
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stunning final 102 pages...
Review: Only two books I have read in my long life have ever made me cry and shiver: the last 102 pages of this book and the final third of The Last Temptation of Christ. The craft and magic of the writing is stunning as are the events described. So very important. A MUST READ.

Reviewer: HEATHER and Doug FRIES
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent and novel bio of Janos Van Neumann.
Review: Highly readable and enjoyable bio of Janos (John) Van Neumann, as he might have been viewed by co-workers and wives. Ends with an overview of how some of the AI that he spawned has been dominating some of the games where humans were though unbeatable. If you like this, I also give "When we cease to understand the world" my highest recommendation.

Reviewer: Smit Patel
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This new theme of fictional biography is too creative. Would definitely suggest to read if you like to read about scientific minds.

Reviewer: Bernd Gansbacher
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent book Who want to understand reality?

Reviewer: Cementman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A most thought broadening story, particularly significant in Today's world when AI is leaving its diapers behind and could overwhelm our cultures...

Reviewer: Mangesh Gulgule
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is one of the most remarkable books I have read. It simultaneously falls into many categories. It reads like a biography creates a feel of a thriller at the end but is actually a work of fiction. As it is based on facts there is plenty to learn. You learn about some commonalities that afflict geniuses, about how different people can have different views of the same person, how genius has levels, how mathematics can influence many fields and the disruptive power of AI. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: A
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It took me a while to understand the way the book is written - as I understood it, it’s a historical fiction; so it’s like reading a biography but with all the human detail which I presume was added by the author. I think it’s a GREAT way to write such a book. I really loved it.Im not sure it was what I thought it was, but again I really enjoyed it; it’s so well written.It’s a book of two parts; the first 2/3 is about Jonny Von Neumann, the mathematician - it’s a birth-to-death biography without any technical detail but still covers all his achievements. The second 1/3 is just about the AlphaGo/Lee Sedol Go tournament; something I previously had no knowledge of or interest in, yet I was captivated and gripped!Love this author.Would highly recommend.