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Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character

Authors: Ralph Leighton, Richard P. Feynman
Creator: Edward Hutchings
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

27 reviews
Sales Rank: 2721

Media: Paperback
Edition: First Vintage edition
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9

ISBN: 009917331X
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780099173311
ASIN: 009917331X

Publication Date: June 7, 1992
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk Review
A series of anecdotes, such as are included in Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman, shouldn't by rights add up to an autobiography, but that's just one of the many pieces of received wisdom that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88) cheerfully ignores in this engagingly eccentric book. Fiercely independent (read the chapter entitled "Judging Books by Their Covers"), intolerant of stupidity even when it comes packaged as high intellectualism (check out "Is Electricity Fire?"), unafraid to offend (see "You Just Ask Them?"), Feynman informs by entertaining. It's possible to enjoy Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman, a bestseller ever since its initial publication in 1985, simply as a bunch of hilarious yarns with the author as know-it-all hero. At some point, however, attentive readers realise that underneath all the merriment simmers a running commentary on what constitutes authentic knowledge: learning by understanding, not by rote; refusal to give up on seemingly insoluble problems, and total disrespect for fancy ideas that have no grounding in the real world. Feynman himself had all these qualities in spades, and they come through with vigour and verve in his no-bull prose. No wonder his students--and readers around the world--adored him. --Wendy Smith

Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Mr Feynman, you are awful...but I like you! January 22, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

What an interesting book! Richard Feynman was an acknowledged genius and this is not an autobiography in the normal sense. Compiled from a series of interviews set up for the purpose, Feynman's sense of fun and sheer joy of physics, maths and life in general shines through.

He is not shy in taking credit where it is due - he certainly "gets" things really quickly where others struggle - but is also surprisingly honest when describing his relationships for example and is quite happy to acknowledge the efforts made by others. This is an easy book to "dip" into and one can also sit down and devote significant time to it. Not only is this one of the best science books I have read it is one of the best biographies I have read full stop.

I can't help feeling that if you were to happen acros RF in a bar (and that would not be an unusual occurrence) you would find him a pleasant and interesting companion.

5 out of 5 stars

Clarity and Class December 7, 2007
Reading this book is like suddenly being best friends with one of the most talented and inspiring personalities of the last century. The preface points out a very relevant fact--Feynman's remarkable observations and adventures enough to add colour to a hundred lives, and we are only given occasional glimpses of his day job. The depth of his personality and the fluidity of his mind shine through in this book, hopefully to help clear some cobwebs from within our own heads.

5 out of 5 stars

Get curious about this November 1, 2007
This book is a collection of anecdotes by Richard P. Feynman who was a Theoretical Physicist famous for winning the Nobel prize and his earlier work on the Manhattan project responsible for creating the first Atomic Bomb, the two being unrelated. In spite of the stereotypical image of theoretical physicists, or even leading scientists in general, "Dick" was renowned for his character which endeared him to many who knew him and as well as having a keen intellect this book also shows his fun-loving creative side and the fact he was also a great story teller.

The stories in this book begin early on in his childhood when he was tampering with and repairing valve-based radio's through to his time studying at MIT and Princeton then through his years at Los Alamos working on the Bomb going onto his later years teaching at Caltech and in Brazil where he learned to speak Portuguese and play Samba music. Each story is well described and as long as necessary, it's been well edited so you're rarely reminded that these were story's that were not delivered for a book but were told in a far more personal setting. The layout and organisation build an image of how his character was developed throughout the years and his curiosity and love of science as well as his ignorance to social etiquette shine through the words on the pages. The later chapters deliver his passion for genuine scientific method and thorough hard work and attention to detail which would be a good moral for anyone to take from reading this book.

Very enjoyable throughout, a must for anyone with or without an interest in science and the key figures who influenced all of our lives.

5 out of 5 stars

This was the book that made me really understand what the word 'genius' actually means September 30, 2007
I read about Richard Feynman in an obituary in a newspaper back in 1988. Fascinated I bought this book, which turned out to be one of the best (if not the best) autobiographies that I have ever read. A safe-cracking, bongo playing, nobel prize winning genius. He was the the scientist on the panel of the space shuttle challenger disaster that identified the main cause of the explosion and traced the design flaw back to complacency within NASA; this story is told in his second autobiographical story: 'What Do You Care What Other People Think?' Scientific books written by him that I also enjoyed (not sure how much I actually understood) are: 'Six Easy Pieces' and 'QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter'. Finally, if you are really hooked I can recommend James Gleick's biography of Feynman, simply but aptly named: Genius. It says it all!

5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, inspirational and very funny! September 6, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

There can be no argument that Richard P Feynman was a genius. He has been a hero of mine since I was very young, probably because my father also greatly admires him and spoke to me about Feynman and his unique personality from time to time.

There are some great stories in this book and they will make you laugh out loud. Feynman was always so full of life and he was curious about absolutely everything from a very early age. He would always want to know, "How does that work?" or "Why is that the way it is?" or "Is there another way to do that?" He would also latch onto something and decide that he wanted to do it, and to do it really well. For example, witnessing the bongo-playing in Brazil inspired him to learn to play like that and not like some studio-taught purist. He achieved it through dedication to his objective and sheer passion.

What made Feynman a genius? Well, there were lots of factors that contributed to his status, many of them discussed in other reviews of this book, but, my reason for putting him into that classification was that he was capable of explaining the most complex of matters to a five-year-old. That is TRUE genius.

I have read this book many times. It is a short book and will remain amongst my collection until the day that I die. If you haven't read it already, you should. You really need to read this book. I can guarantee that it will change at least one aspect of your life!