Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb [Paperback]

The enjoyment, or perhaps the utility you'll find with this book, will be directly related to how much you know about Game Theory prior to this read. This book spends, as much time on history and biography as it does on what Game Theory is about, so this work would seem to be most appropriate to those who are new to the material. I had only basic understanding of Game Theory from other books I had read, within which this field of study was mentioned, so for me the book was very worthwhile. The historical and biographic aspects of the book were not new, so there were of less interest to me.

Math need not be a passion for this book to be understood and enjoyed. The various games that are explained and, "played", for the reader actually utilize little in the way of math. Game Theory in practice is about the number of participants, the choices they have, how the games should rationally be played, and how there are played when people replace theory. The results of these games are applicable to daily life, whether it explains how a network will decide the placement of their commercials, why a person will stand in a line of unknown length, or pay more than the true value of an item (like a dollar bill). Peoples behavior often crosses from the irrational to the absurd, and many of these games will point out courses of action almost all readers will have taken at one time or another, when the rational decision was the opposite of what they chose to do.

The book is also a good primer for further reading on Bertrand Russell, John Nash the subject of the movie, "A Beautiful Mind", and John von Neumann, who many considered the most brilliant man alive during his career, and many other great scientists of the 20th Century. There is also review of the development of both the atomic and hydrogen bombs, and the very surprising groups of people that either supported their development and use, and those that were diametrically opposed. There is also some discussion on how Game Theory was and is used to make decisions on a global scale, and also where Game Theory falls short of some of its initial promise.

You will most likely enjoy following "The Prisoner's Dilemma, The Stag Hunt, The Dollar Auction, and So Long Sucker", the last of which often was alleged to have spouses leave the scene of the game is separate cabs. Any one who is inquisitive will enjoy the book, and may be motivated to pursue a variety of its topics further.

This should be of interest to both readers concerned with Cold War policy and the development of game theory. Poundstone is one of the more gifted writers (at least regarding narrative skills) to address game theory, an often perplexingly technical subject, offering an interesting, fairly comprehensive introduction to the subject without becoming mired in its more technical aspects. And his characterization of von Neumann, an interesting intellect, is able and compelling.

Prisoner's Dilemma: John Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb

I bought this book following a short section of an economics course which used game theory and the Prisoner's Dilemma to explain decision making in areas such as cartels, collusion and advertising budgets which inspired me to learn more. However, it sat unread on my shelf for nearly a year, which I now regret because this is such an interesting text.

The author has made it part von Neumann biography, part cold war politics and part game theory and, in the main, has put it together perfectly with enough emphasis on each part to make it interesting to a wide readership.

Although I did struggle with certain sections, partly because there is possibly a little too much discussion about the different types of game theory and their likley outcomes e.g. chicken, stag hunt etc, I disagree with another reviewer that thought that the book tailed off towards the end. For me the last couple of chapters which outlined later uses of game theory in the biological and evolutionary fields were very interesting, and I am sure that there are more recent applications which build on this chapter and which this book has inspired me to look for.

In all, a very well written book that is easy to read and which shows how Game Theory is present in every day life decisions whether we realise it or not, often making human behaviour very predictable.