Perspective

William Poundstone, the author of Prisoner's Dilemma, is an American author who has written several books on scientific topics. Although this is a book at least partially about game theory, it is clear that the author has a broader interest in the topic than just the mathematics of game theory or the lives of those who developed it. He is interested in the way that game theory views the world and the way that the particular lens of game theory, which sees the world as a series of amoral conflicts, has affected the actual world.

Throughout the book, von Neumann and other mathematicians are subtly contrasted with Bertrand Russell, the philosopher. The effect is to suggest that Russell was an intelligent man with no illusions who, nevertheless, approached the world in a moral way. Russell, unlike von Neumann, was concerned with how he would affect the world and...