Prisoner's Dilemma:
John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb
by William Poundstone
Raymond M. Smullyan:
I was thoroughly carried away by Prisoner's Dilemma; it is one of the most fascinating and informative books I have read in years. The scientific and mathematical aspects, the biographical and historical materials, with their thought-provoking sociological ramifications, are absorbing.
Douglas Hofstadter:
Once again, Poundstone has pulled together, in a beautifully idiosyncratic fashion, several profound themes from diverse areas of life, including the dynamics of the nuclear arms race, the tragic story of the Hungarian genius who invented the architecture of today's computers, the theory of game playing, and moral philosophy. These and other themes become tangled together in an intellectually exciting and emotionally enthralling symphony of ideas.
Ian Stewart:
Zero-sum games, war games, cold war games -- from poker via the Bomb to the amoral but seductive doctrine of preventive war. William Poundstone's penetrating biography of of John von Neumann reveals what it is like to be a prisoner trapped in a dilemma of one's own making.
Andrew Hodges, writing in The New York Times Book Review:
The real originality of this book lies in its colorful synthesis of logical material and historical and biographical narration. Mr. Poundstone's skillfully paced exposition takes us in parallel lines through cold war history, strategic games of the nuclear age and the life of von Neumann, who named his dog Inverse, told crude jokes and converted to Catholicism twice -- once for his wife and once to hedge his bets at death.
Prisoner's Dilemma was on the San Francisco Chronicle best seller list for two months. It has been published in Great Britain, Spain, Poland, and Japan.
Prisoner's Dilemma:
John von Neumann, Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb
by William Poundstone
Raymond M. Smullyan:
I was thoroughly carried away by Prisoner's Dilemma; it is one of the most fascinating and informative books I have read in years. The scientific and mathematical aspects, the biographical and historical materials, with their thought-provoking sociological ramifications, are absorbing.
Douglas Hofstadter:
Once again, Poundstone has pulled together, in a beautifully idiosyncratic fashion, several profound themes from diverse areas of life, including the dynamics of the nuclear arms race, the tragic story of the Hungarian genius who invented the architecture of today's computers, the theory of game playing, and moral philosophy. These and other themes become tangled together in an intellectually exciting and emotionally enthralling symphony of ideas.
Ian Stewart:
Zero-sum games, war games, cold war games -- from poker via the Bomb to the amoral but seductive doctrine of preventive war. William Poundstone's penetrating biography of of John von Neumann reveals what it is like to be a prisoner trapped in a dilemma of one's own making.
Andrew Hodges, writing in The New York Times Book Review:
The real originality of this book lies in its colorful synthesis of logical material and historical and biographical narration. Mr. Poundstone's skillfully paced exposition takes us in parallel lines through cold war history, strategic games of the nuclear age and the life of von Neumann, who named his dog Inverse, told crude jokes and converted to Catholicism twice -- once for his wife and once to hedge his bets at death.
Prisoner's Dilemma was on the San Francisco Chronicle best seller list for two months. It has been published in Great Britain, Spain, Poland, and Japan.