This book was a product of Rand's pioneering work in computing, as well a testament to the patience and persistence of researchers in the early days of Rand.
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Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
SPOILER ALERT!!!
"06437236574276036606771223056865998639264890175616879532543265263265265325326521532526464363737353259982836745894359375873581293259078935085871328975207853580707822140742107214"
By beckoning to the reader with quite such a profoundly searching question, author Rand sets up some pretty lofty expectations. However, as events progress, it becomes quite abundantly clear that we are in for a spectacularly variable piece of literature. By the time I had reached page 5, I couldn't help but feel that the refreshingly avant-garde sense of potency had begun to fade, leaving things to degenerate into little more than a mind-numbing drawl. Events began to meander, with little sense of direction or overarching structural cohesion. Intermittently, I might find myself becoming convinced that I had begun to detect a trace of of method among the madness. However, time after time, such expectations were to be confounded- by the most deviously ingenious of subversions. As a case in point, let's have a look at the concluding paragraph to the penultimate page:
"046832532593258032075872394611673284943504327458909743041280214614289489253252148584210132459148032034210439068975907413278990353241287259078098532743894120214241124389071429043074"
Rest assured that I shall not divulge precisely what was to transpire upon that final page, but I can tell you that the conclusion left me open-mouthed and goggle-eyed with bemusement. Had I just encountered a profound statement about the aleatoric structure of the universe and the fleeting nature of life? Was the entire final page the result of a perversely improbable misprint? Or had the author simply been permitted to watch one David Lynch film too many? Ultimately, this is a work that raises more questions than it has answers to.
"06437236574276036606771223056865998639264890175616879532543265263265265325326521532526464363737353259982836745894359375873581293259078935085871328975207853580707822140742107214"
By beckoning to the reader with quite such a profoundly searching question, author Rand sets up some pretty lofty expectations. However, as events progress, it becomes quite abundantly clear that we are in for a spectacularly variable piece of literature. By the time I had reached page 5, I couldn't help but feel that the refreshingly avant-garde sense of potency had begun to fade, leaving things to degenerate into little more than a mind-numbing drawl. Events began to meander, with little sense of direction or overarching structural cohesion. Intermittently, I might find myself becoming convinced that I had begun to detect a trace of of method among the madness. However, time after time, such expectations were to be confounded- by the most deviously ingenious of subversions. As a case in point, let's have a look at the concluding paragraph to the penultimate page:
"046832532593258032075872394611673284943504327458909743041280214614289489253252148584210132459148032034210439068975907413278990353241287259078098532743894120214241124389071429043074"
Rest assured that I shall not divulge precisely what was to transpire upon that final page, but I can tell you that the conclusion left me open-mouthed and goggle-eyed with bemusement. Had I just encountered a profound statement about the aleatoric structure of the universe and the fleeting nature of life? Was the entire final page the result of a perversely improbable misprint? Or had the author simply been permitted to watch one David Lynch film too many? Ultimately, this is a work that raises more questions than it has answers to.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having read this book in the original binary, I found this new translation disappointing. The bleakness of the original is entirely lost, and the deviates were almost boringly normal instead of the more nuanced deviates of the original masterpiece.
Sooner or later somebody will translate this properly (I believe the definitive treatment will be in octadecimal, but limiting the palette to ones and zeroes), but in the meantime I'd advise anyone to get a decent binary-decimal dictionary and read the original for themselves instead of this substandard translation.
Sooner or later somebody will translate this properly (I believe the definitive treatment will be in octadecimal, but limiting the palette to ones and zeroes), but in the meantime I'd advise anyone to get a decent binary-decimal dictionary and read the original for themselves instead of this substandard translation.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Moley mole
Format:Paperback
This book of random numbers might be very good for the younger generation with their hip hop music. Call me old fashioned but I prefer my numbers to be in a traditional sequential order, some people may find that predictable I grant you but at least there a clear beginning and end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
RANDOM?
RANDOM? Whaddaya mean RANDOM?
It clearly says in Chapter 10 that the butler did it - dammit! Read more
It clearly says in Chapter 10 that the butler did it - dammit! Read more
Published 10 days ago by John Griffin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written
A very well written book, and I must admit, a few of the words in there were a little bit too tricky for me. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though.
Published 1 month ago by Dylan
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a rip off!
I bought this book and waited, with baited breath, for the right moment. I figured (geddit?) an hour at home alone, with the lights turned down low, was all I needed to really take... Read more
Published 9 months ago by VoodooMike
3.0 out of 5 stars
Outdated!
Maybe this is what passed for random in 2001! by todays standards this is positivly signposted. i read it to my 5 yr old adopted indian boychild and he was able to chant along... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Faacht Von Teetermunchen
3.0 out of 5 stars
didn't deliver on promise.
As were most people, I was drawn to the catchy title and irresistible cover art. However, I found it to be a bit of a letdown. Read more
Published 10 months ago by B. Scott-Robinson
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing.
After all the pre-release hype in the media we've been subjected to I at least expected the story to be gripping. It turns out to be just another random numbers potboiler. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Colonel Cologne
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly edited with beautiful scenes
You'd think that a book priced this high would have gone through a rigorous editing and review process, but apparently not. Read more
Published 10 months ago by M. Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why is there no Kindle version?
This complicated tome needs to be Kindled so that we can all share our favourite clippings. It would also be helpful for those of us who need to search for the sequence 2873... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Victor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece
Sublime surrealist prose in the vein of Hugo Ball's cut-up poetry and Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons; sadly, like Van Dyke Parks, Rand's work was discarded as meaningless by his... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Harry Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read
Don't turn to the last page and spoil the book by finding out the ending. Make sure you read from page 1 and let the tension build.
Published 19 months ago by Mark Pack
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