John von Neumann : the scientific genius who pioneered the modern computer, game theory, nuclear deterrence, and much more / Norman Macrae.

Author
Macrae, Norman, 1923-2010 [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
[Providence, RI] : American Mathematical Society, 1999.
Description
x, 405 pages : illustrations

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks QA29.V66 M334 1999 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    This volume is the reprinted edition of the first full-scale biography of the man widely regarded as the greatest scientist of the century after Einstein. Born in Budapest in 1903, John von Neumann grew up in one of the most extraordinary of scientific communities. From his arrival in America in the mid-1930s--with bases in Boston, Princeton, Washington, and Los Alamos--von Neumann pioneered and participated in the major scientific and political dramas of the next three decades, leaving his mark on more fields of scientific endeavor than any other scientist. Von Neumann's work in areas such as game theory, mathematics, physics, and meteorology formed the building blocks for the most important discoveries of the century: the modern computer, game theory, the atom bomb, radar, and artificial intelligence, to name just a few. From the laboratory to the highest levels of government, this definitive biography gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the politics and personalities involved in these world-changing discoveries. Written more than 30 years after von Neumann's untimely death at age 54, it was prepared with the cooperation of his family and includes information gained from interviewing countless sources across Europe and America. Norman Macrae paints a highly readable, humanizing portrait of a man whose legacy still influences and shapes modern science and knowledge. -- Amazon.com
    Notes
    Originally published: New York : Pantheon Books, ©1992.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 391-394) and index.
    Contents
    • The cheapest way to make the world richer
    • A silver spoon in Budapest, 1903-14
    • At the Lutheran gymnasium, 1914-21
    • An undergraduate with lion's claws, 1921-26
    • Rigor becomes more relaxed, 500 B. C.-A. D. 1931
    • The quantum leap,1926-32
    • Sturm und drang, marriage, emigration, 1927-31
    • Depression at Princeton, 1991-37
    • The calculating exploder, 1943-45
    • In the domain of economics
    • The computers at Philadelphia, 1944-46
    • The computers from Princeton, 1946-52
    • And then the H-Bomb
    • With astonishing influence, 1950-56.
    ISBN
    • 0821820648 ((alk. paper))
    • 9780821820643 ((alk. paper))
    • 9780821826768
    • 082182676X
    LCCN
    99037303
    OCLC
    41932450
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