The MANIAC

Benjamín Labatut's *The Maniac* is a work of speculative fiction that blends rigorous scientific history with a dark, philosophical narrative. The book centers on the life of John von Neumann, the brilliant mathematician and physicist who helped shape the modern world through his work on quantum mechanics, game theory, and the Manhattan Project. Labatut portrays von Neumann not merely as a genius, but as a figure of terrifying intensity, whose intellect was matched only by his capacity for destruction and his complex, often tragic personal relationships. The narrative weaves together the development of the atomic bomb, the early days of computing, and the Cold War, using von Neumann's life as a lens to examine the moral and existential consequences of scientific progress.

Description adapted from Open Library bibliographic data ↗.