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Cover: Open Library

MANIACsecond-hand

by Benjamín Labatut

4.8 · 5 ratings on Open Library · 28 want to read it

Published by Anagrama · Mathematics and science · ISBN 9788433911001

from€16.27cover price €21.9026% less

5 used offers · median €26.96

Total price with shipping, checked on 6 October 2026.

A 2023 novel, the first Labatut wrote in English: a fictionalised biography of the mathematician John von Neumann, arranged in three parts. It opens in 1933 with the tragedy of the physicist Paul Ehrenfest and then centres on von Neumann, who laid mathematical foundations for quantum mechanics, helped design the atomic bomb, developed game theory and conceived the first modern computer. The book also deals with the history of artificial intelligence and the Go games between Lee Sedol and AlphaGo.

Spoiler-free · Pecia's guide, written with AI and reviewed

Reading guide

About 9 hours of reading · Who it's for · Why people still read it · If you like it, read next
Who it's for
For readers drawn to the history of science, the nuclear age and artificial intelligence, who enjoy a novel that stays close to real events and people.
Why people still read it
It received mostly positive reviews. The title comes from MANIAC I, an early computer built at Los Alamos on von Neumann's architecture.

If you like it, read next

Written with the help of AI from Open Library, todostuslibros, and Wikipedia, without giving away the ending, and reviewed by a person.

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Total priceConditionBookshopView
€16.27free shippingGoodCheapestHamelynView ↗
€17.90free shippingLike newHamelynView ↗
€26.96€20.96 + €6.00 shippingAcceptablemedimopsView ↗
€29.99€26.49 + €3.50 shippingExcellentLa Social. Galería y LibrosView ↗
€32.59€23.83 + €8.76 shippingExcellentAHA-BUCH GmbHView ↗

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Why we only look at used copies

In Spain, Law 10/2007 fixes the price of new books: the publisher sets it and shops can only take 5% off. Amazon, FNAC and your local bookshop all cost the same. The only place the price moves is second-hand.

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