The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

Name: The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
Price: 1.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.4 (3913 reviews)
Author: Jonathan Rosen

by Jonathan Rosen

Memoir Biography Memoir

4.4 (3,913)

4.4 stars from 3,913 reviews. Top 61% of Memoir books we track.

$1.99Deal87% off peak

Last checked: Jun 17, 2026

Price history: $1.99 – $14.99

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Price range: $1.99 – $14.99

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Perfect for you if...

You want to understand mental illness not through clinical language but through the intimate lens of someone who lived alongside it.
You're drawn to deeply reported narratives that refuse easy answers or moral judgement about tragedy.
You appreciate memoirs that explore how brilliance and illness can coexist in ways that challenge everything we think we know about success.

Maybe not for you if...

You're looking for an uplifting story about overcoming mental health challenges.
You prefer lighter reads and avoid accounts of violence or tragic loss.
You want a straightforward diagnosis-and-recovery narrative rather than a complicated, haunting exploration of what went wrong.

About this book

Jonathan Rosen's investigation into his childhood best friend Michael Laudor traces the arc from brilliant promise to tragedy. When the Rosen family moved to New Rochelle in 1973, Jonathan and Michael became inseparable friends and competitors. Both sons of college professors, they were accepted to Yale University and appeared destined for success in the American meritocratic system. Michael graduated from Yale in three years with summa cum laude honors and secured a prestigious consulting position. However, he suffered a serious psychotic break and was hospitalized in a locked psychiatric ward. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Michael continued to experience delusions even as he pursued Yale Law School. Featured in The New York Times as a role model, he sold a memoir with film rights attached. While gripped by a paranoid fantasy, Michael stabbed his girlfriend Carrie to death, becoming a front-page news story. The Best Minds examines friendship, love, and self-delusion while exploring how we understand—and fail to understand—mental illness. The book presents an account of good intentions and their tragic outcomes.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $14.99

Currently on sale at $1.99 — 87% off peak. Price has dropped 6 times over the last 4 years. Goes on sale roughly every 212 days. Typically stays discounted for 1 day.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #34K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Sales have softened 97% recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.4★ from 3,913 reviews

Gaining approximately 106 new reviews per month. Reader interest is accelerating. Rating has dipped slightly from 4.6 to 4.4.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $1.99. It typically returns to around $14.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.