Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman (original 1985; edition 1989)by Richard P. Feynman (Author)
Work InformationSurely You're Joking, Mr Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman (1985)
BusinessBooks (11) » 13 more Books Read in 2021 (1,318) Physics (1) Read This Next (43) Overdue Podcast (432) Books Read in 2014 (2,235) Unread books (727) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Huh. Feynman is clearly an interesting character and a significant influence in modern science. His antics are interesting is this collection, and It was just as interesting to travel back to a different era through this storytelling. He does come across as a bit pompous at times, perhaps another blast from the past. Overall an interesting read. Richard Feynman is definitely an admirable fellow. He's extremely intelligent and has an enviable work ethic. Some of the stories in this book are fascinating illuminations on times and places I know little about. His voice in prose is not very appealing to me, however. I'm not sure what it is that bothers me about the way he talks or writes (I gather from the preface that these stories are essentially dicatations). Heather felt he was caddish, and it's clear that he had a fascination with women. For me, though, these elements of the stories are not that remarkable giving the age he was living through. Guys just seemed to act that way during the middle of the century. Maybe I felt like his casual tone was a bit forced. He's obviously brilliant, but he also sees himself as a straight shooter that likes to cut through the usual tangle of academic obfuscation. I guess I still felt an undercurrent of arrogance along with a bit too much bragging. Maybe I just envy his achievements; I don't know. In any case, the material is good and pretty consistently entertaining. The most valuable element for me was the window on mid-century academic life. no reviews | add a review
Is contained inContainsInspiredHas as a teacher's guideDistinctionsNotable Lists
References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (14)Biography & Autobiography.
Science.
Nonfiction.
HTML: Richard Feynman, one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists, thrived on adventure. His outrageous exploits once shocked a Princeton dean's wife to exclaim: "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" In this phenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prizeâ??winning physicist recounts in his inimitable voice his experiences trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador, accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums, and much else of an eyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. Woven together with his views on science, Feynman's life story is a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, eternal skepticism, and raging chutzpah. No library descriptions found.
|
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)530.0924Natural sciences and mathematics Physics Physics Physics Biography And History BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
To be frank, some of his stories tend towards the anti-feminist side and make women into objects instead of brilliant minds of their own. This is unfortunate. He grew up and lived in an era where women were not as valued for their professional accomplishments. This memoir sadly contains abundant references to women in sensual roles, not as reasoning equals. Of course, he worked in a male-heavy field before the “Me too†era, so his situation was different than mine 30 years later. Nonetheless, I would have liked to have heard more praising of womankind. Had he lived to this date, I suspect he would have, too.
Despite this central shortcoming, his anecdotes and perspective provides much insight. He is fiercely curious, fiercely objective, and fiercely free. He volunteered his time on government boards for schoolbooks, and he delved in many scientific fields that weren’t tightly wed to physics. He is a good storyteller, and his fascination with life comes through clearly in this memoir. I would have liked to have heard him speak had I lived in his era, despite any shortcomings of character. ( )