that was awesome!

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2012)

Sylvia Nasar does a superb job of informing readers about John Nash's struggles with schizophrenia in the biography A Beautiful Mind. Nash, a Nobel Prize winner, is an eminent mathematician with (in the words of a colleague) "a beautiful mind." Unfortunately, it's also a sick mind. Although he manages to function "normally" these days, without the aid of medication, Nash is still a schizophrenic (who has an adult son who suffers from the same disease).As moviegoers know, Ron Howard directed the movie version of the book, starring Russell Crowe. While the film does a fine job of introducing audiences to the ins and outs of schizophrenia and the difficulties that caregivers experience while trying to assist someone afflicted with the disease, it shows only the tip of the iceberg. Anyone wanting to know more about what schizophrenia entails should read Nasar's book. It is gripping and reveals the agonies of a schizophrenic life. Thoroughly researched and effectively presented in a cohesive narrative which fully engages the attention of readers, this biography shows how Nash fell prey to the disease and how his family-first his mother and sister, and later his wife-sought to have him treated and provided with the best medical care then available. At one point that treatment called for electric shock treatment (as vividly dramatized in the movie).Nash's colleagues, many of whom had relatives who were schizophrenics or who were schizophrenics themselves, helped him time and time again, when he was at risk of becoming unemployed and/or destitute. Through sheer force of will, Nash managed to pull himself back from the brink and to pursue a life of domestic contentment and professional achievement. His is definitely a story worth knowing. And Nasar relates it in detail and comprehensively, helping readers to appreciate the horror of possibly losing such a beautiful mind.