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The MANIAC

By Benjamín Labatut
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4.34 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut, the narrative delves into the blurred boundaries between genius and madness. It weaves a story that explores the complexities of scientific discovery and its profound effects on human life. Through a blend of historical fact and speculative fiction, the book examines the moral quandaries that accompany groundbreaking ideas, creating a thought-provoking and immersive reading experience.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by the blurred lines between historical fact and fiction, as it delves into the lives of scientists whose groundbreaking discoveries have both illuminated and haunted the world. It explores the tension between human innovation and its unintended consequences, offering a thought-provoking narrative on the impact of genius.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From the author of When We Cease to Understand the World: a dazzling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AI.

John von Neumann was an enigma. As a young man, he stunned those around him with his monomaniacal pursuit of the unshakeable foundations of mathematics. But when his faith in this all-encompassing system crumbled, he began to put his prodigious intellect to use for those in power. As he designed unfathomable computer systems and aided the development of the atomic bomb, his work pushed increasingly into areas that were beyond human comprehension and control—and that threatened human destruction.

In The MANIAC, Benjamín Labatut braids fact with fiction in a scintillating journey to the very fringes of rational thought, right to the point where it tips over into chaos. Stretching back to early twentieth-century conflict over contradictions in physics and up to advances in artificial intelligence that outpace the human, this is a mind-bending story of the mad dreams of reason.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut has been praised for its thrilling originality and dark, eerie beauty, with numerous reviewers noting its gripping and provocative nature. It has been described as captivating and addictive, blending elements of modern technology with a pace akin to a thriller. Its exploration of pressing scientific themes, combined with a chilling narrative, has captured the imagination of critics, marking Labatut as a significant contemporary writer.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781782279815

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 07 September 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 368

Collections

Benjamín Labatut Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Benjamin Labatut was born in Rotterdam in 1980 and grew up in The Hague, Buenos Aires and Lima. When We Cease to Understand the World, his first book to be translated into English, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Labatut lives with his family in Santiago, Chile.

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    From the author of When We Cease to Understand the World: a thrilling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AI 'Monstrously good... Reads like a dark foundation myth about modern technology but told with the pace of a thriller' Mark Haddon In a scintillating mix of fact and fiction, The MANIAC tells of...
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