The Man from the Future

A splendid biography of one of the most brilliant, unpredictable and ultimately dangerous mathematicians of the 20th century * Financial Times, Best Books of the Year * 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. . . If you are interested in the development in the 20th century of science that impacts all our lives today, there can be no better place to seek information than this book. . . A fine tribute to von Neumann's genius and his contributions to science -- John Gribbin * Literary Review * With great deftness, Bhattacharya gives John von Neumann his rightful place among such better-known giants as Albert Einstein or J Robert Oppenheimer. He tells the story tremendously well -- David Bodanis * Financial Times * Good biographies of some of the greatest mathematical minds are rare. . . Rather like the books of Stephen Hawking or Carlo Rovelli, this book is rewarding on different levels. . . Mr Bhattacharya is a clear and authoritative guide * The Economist * Splendid . . . a whistle stop tour through von Neumann's restless mind -- Manjit Kumar * Guardian * Rivetting . . . a sharp, expansive biography of John von Neumann, a titanic 20th-century scientist * Kirkus * An agile, intelligent, intellectually enraptured account of von Neumann's life. Bhattacharya argues convincingly that von Neumann was a man in whose extraordinarily fertile head the pre-war world found a lifeboat. Five stars -- Simon Ings * Sunday Telegraph * Fascinating . . . Bhattacharya succeeds in arguing that von Neumann is under-appreciated, and that to understand him, we have to see him in the political and scientific movements of his time * The Critic * Bhattacharya's crystal-clear prose makes 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 * It seems fair to claim there was no one like von Neumann. . . . Bhattacharya manages to cover his dazzling range of ideas clearly and compellingly -- Jon Turney * Arts Desk * Brilliant. . . Apart from being one of the finest minds of the 20th century, von Neumann was also idiosyncratic and entertaining. Bhattacharya guides us through the ideas that built the modern world while making sense of the man behind them -- Nick Smith * E&T * Vivid. . . The Man From the Future is devoted to exploring the ideas and technological inquiries von Neumann inspired -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times * Reacquainting modern readers with "the most famous scientist in America after Einstein," The Man from the Future examines the tremendous impact von Neumann had on various scientific disciplines. . . exceptional * Science * An engaging and fascinating book that blends science and history. I loved it -- Paul Davies, author of The Demon in the Machine John von Neumann was one of the deepest and broadest thinkers of the 20th century - but also a delight to encounter. According to one admirer, listening to him was "mental champagne". Now we have a biography of the man about which you can say the same. 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 An ambitious account of a complex thinker who lived through extraordinary times. Ananyo Bhattacharya's biography of von Neumann is admirably thorough and accessible -- Angela Saini, author of Inferior I loved The Man from the Future. An extremely impressive piece of science writing that deftly covers the twentieth century's revolutions in maths, physics, economics and computer science. Bravo

Ananyo Bhattacharya is a science writer who has worked at the Economist and Nature. Before journalism, he was a medical researcher at the Burnham Institute in San Diego, California. He holds a degree in physics from the University of Oxford and a PhD in protein crystallography from Imperial College London.