# The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut

12 Hacker News commenters recommended The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a beautifully written novel about John von Neumann, told through chapters from the viewpoints of people in his life, and praise its historical accuracy.

## Why people recommend it

- Chapters told through different characters' perspectives (2 comments): "I liked the book, it uses an interesting storytelling mechanism of telling each chapter through the lens of a different historical character" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49934154)) "It is a wonderful read - very eloquently put together, giving accounts of the man from the perspectives of several people in his life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50249149))
- Beautifully written, eloquent prose (2 comments): "It is a wonderful read - very eloquently put together, giving accounts of the man from the perspectives of several people in his life." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50249149)) "Maniac is a beautifully written book about von Neumann." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50254207))
- Historically accurate portrayal of von Neumann (2 comments): "How creative to think of writing such a thing! But von Meumann is a big enough intellect and personality to sustain it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48985022)) "it was pretty historically accurate though" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49937292))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aubrey-maturin-series.md): 18 recommend
- [The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas](https://hackerapproved.com/p/three-musketeers.md): 12 recommend
- [I, Claudius by Robert Graves](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-claudius.md): 11 recommend
- [Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/master-and-commander.md): 7 recommend
- [The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson](https://hackerapproved.com/p/baroque-cycle.md): 7 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593654498?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780593654491) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut", https://hackerapproved.com/p/maniac/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).