Simply Genius!: And Other Tales from My Life

by Ervin Laszlo, Deepak Chopra (Foreword)

An autobiography usually recounts the life of a person who has achieved wide acclaim in one field. But this extraordinary book describes the life of someone who has achieved international acclaim in three fields! Ervin Laszlo was a child prodigy on the piano and grew up to become an internationally celebrated virtuoso. By the time he reached his 40s, however, he had become a famous scientist and philosopher, and had written a dozen books and more than a hundred articles. He also taught at major universities in Europe, the U.S., and the Far East. Shortly thereafter, he gained world renown as a global visionary, heading research programs at the United Nations and founding an international think tank (the Club of Budapest). But this book is not an autobiography in the traditional sense. In Laszlo's own "I don't like talking about myself, about what makes me tick and why. Writing about all the things that have happened to me is different. This is storytelling--the telling of a real, lived my story, as it unfolded over the years." Join the author on his remarkable journey from his days as an internationally acclaimed concert pianist . . . to his profoundly personal quest to effect positive global transformation!

306 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

Ervin Laszlo is a systems philosopher, integral theorist, and classical pianist. Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, he has authored more than 70 books, which have been translated into nineteen languages, and has published in excess of four hundred articles and research papers, including six volumes of piano recordings.

Dr. Laszlo is generally recognized as the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory, and serves as the founder-director of the General Evolution Research Group and as past president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He is also the recipient of the highest degree in philosophy and human sciences from the Sorbonne, the University of Paris, as well as of the coveted Artist Diploma of the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest. Additional prizes and awards include four honorary doctorates.

His appointments have included research grants at Yale and Princeton Universities, professorships for philosophy, systems sciences, and future sciences at the Universities of Houston, Portland State, and Indiana, as well as Northwestern University and the State University of New York. His career also included guest professorships at various universities in Europe and the Far East. In addition, he worked as program director for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). In 1999 he was was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Canadian International Institute of Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics.

For many years he has served as president of the Club of Budapest, which he founded. He is an advisor to the UNESCO Director General, ambassador of the International Delphic Council, member of both the International Academy of Science, World Academy of Arts and Science, and the International Academy of Philosophy.

Reviews

[Robert Carraher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Reading biographies or autobiographies of brilliant men you can expect to be exposed to their particular field of expertise. Perhaps you are familiar with or at least somewhat knowledgeable in that field. Perhaps you are just curious. But with Laszlo's work, Simply Genius, you are challenged on three fronts. Your curiosity has to span three separate and diverse areas of knowledge.

Ervin Laszlo, you see, excelled in three fields; first he was a child prodigy and star of the concert stage on the piano. Then, almost casually and for reasons it is easy for a "normal" person to understand, he decided to search out and master another field; science. Then, once again, some twenty-five years later, Laszlo under went another paradigm shift and mastered, and founded yet another field of expertise dealing with what he calls "quantum consciousness".

It's easy to crack open this book and expect to be reading another "A Beautiful Mind" the 1998 Pulitzer winning book and 2001 film starring Russell Crowe encompassing the life of John Nash, the Nobel Laureate in Economics and paranoid schizophrenic. But "Simply Genius" is an autobiography and written by Lazlo himself (with a lot of help from Deepak Chopra) and doesn't pretend to be an entertaining volume about brilliance that conquers a debilitating condition. But, nonetheless it is entertaining.

Laszlo's story is more a reluctant biography told in a voice of a grandfatherly conversation - if your grandfather was one of the foremost important thinkers of the twentieth century! "Simply Genius" is filled with wonderful insights into an extraordinary life and mind that reveals that a man of genius is also just a man.

The book is not in the least `high brow' or aloof, but Laszlo is clearly not telling a story at the local bar. The subject matter, whether great pieces of music or philosophy and science, takes a bit of thought and intellect to understand. It is an enjoyable work, very well written, and almost like a great meal, made to be enjoyed in courses as you sit comfortably and absorb what you have just partaken of before moving on.

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[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ervin Laszlo has had a fascinating life. Growing up in Hungary during World War II, he was a concert pianist at a very young age. He went on to become a philosopher who has written numerous books and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice. In Simply Genius! And Other Tales from My Life, Laszlo shares some of the stories of how he came to be the man he is today.

He tells of his time growing up in Hungary during the war in a family with Jewish ancestors. His shares stories of his living conditions when Soviet forces were in Budapest, and the short time he was sent away from his family to keep him safe. He also tells tales of traveling around Europe with his mother to perform and compete in piano competitions as a child. His love of music is evident, yet it's interesting to note that his mother had wanted to be a concert pianist but wasn't allowed to start playing until she was older. This is what prompted her to push her son toward the piano at a very young age, leading to his first public appearance with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra at the age of nine.

I enjoyed portions of Laszlo's memoir. I knew nothing of this man prior to reading the book, but his life sounded interesting so I wanted to read more about him. I will say that his childhood held my interest well. But once he got into his shift to philosophy and his stories of the universities where he worked and the projects he was involved in, he lost my interest.

The last portion of the book is much less memoir and much more detail about his theories and perspectives on the world. I will say I was drawn back in at this point, but it was a vastly different book. This section was a nonfiction review of his systems theories and the information field he calls Akasha, which I will not even attempt to explain, but you're welcome to look it up. The information he presents is a bit over my head, but it was quite fascinating at times.

I think Simply Genius! would be most appealing to those who are familiar with Laszlo's theories and thoughts about the world.

[Deborah Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read about Laszlo before reading about his theory on the Akashic records. He's a very interesting man with a remarkable life.