Super Short Summary

The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen is a 2023 memoir recounting the author's friendship and rivalry with Michael Laudor, a brilliant young man who developed paranoid schizophrenia. The book charts Michael’s meteoric success and tragic decline, culminating in a devastating act of violence. Rosen also examines the history of psychiatry and societal attitudes toward mental illness, highlighting the systemic failures that contributed to Michael's tragedy. The source material features depictions of violence, mental illness, and uses offensive terms for people with mental illnesses in direct quotes.