This is raw Feynman - Feynman as a rational, brilliant, amusing, and genial man, revealed through letters to his family, to supporting fans, and to other physicists. In all his facets, Richard Feynman was a great person. The introductions and occasional notes by his daughter are immensely helpful too.

The early letters between him and his first wife are as heartbreaking as the later ones are wry, amusing, and wise. What a man!

A selection of letters chosen by his close family. An insight into his private personality and key events in his life.

Ranging from a correspondence with a young and dying wife, being torn between doing what she is asking and doing what is best for her, to light hearted asides and truly inspirational responses to members of the public after he achieved his celebrated status as Nobel prize winner.

Inspirational, heart warming, full of humour. ( )

This collection of personal letters written over the lifetime of Richard Feynman was moving and inspiring. From his early letters to his first wife, dying in a hospital near Los Alamos where he was working during WWII, to the final letter in the book, written to a parent concerned over his bright child, Feynman's kindness and humor were touching and apparent. The letters were collected by his daughter, Michelle, and therefore are shown through a veil of love, but I feel this adds, not detracts. ( )

Mildy entertaining. The first portion of the letters chosen by his son and daughter describing the coorespondence with his dying wife were a bit tedious, but they did reflect his unconditional love for his wife. The last two thirds of the letters showed the wonderful personality of RPF, and his ability to be a sensitive, caring man who took time to encourage young scientists. The letters reflect a humble man. A polar opposite of Albert Einstein, who was a complete self-centered, non-caring, loveless man. ( )

This collection of personal letters written over the lifetime of Richard Feynman was moving and inspiring. From his early letters to his first wife, dying in a hospital near Los Alamos where he was working during WWII, to the final letter in the book, written to a parent concerned over his bright child, Feynman's kindness and humor were touching and apparent. The letters were collected by his daughter, Michelle, and therefore are shown through a veil of love, but I feel this adds, not detracts. ( )

Big compendium of the correspondence of the extraordinary physicist (1918-1988), mostly nontechnical.

This book presents some new material, and the insights and descriptions by Feynman's daughter add depth and richness to the material. Much of the material was familiar from other sources, although the insights and family correspondence alone make this book worth reading. ( )

I only recently bought this, but I can already tell that it'll be something I'll reread from time to time. I'm a minor fan of epistolary books (things like Letters to a Young Poet, or Chekhov's Life in Letters), and this is one of the better ones that I've come across. Feynman wasn't a prose stylist, but his writing is perfectly readable and enjoyable for what it is, and occasionally very moving, especially the early letters between him and his first wife. Writing was apparently their primary form of communication, since Feynman was holed up in Los Alamos working on the nuke while his wife was in a sanitarium or hospital dealing with her tuberculosis.

But even the more standard letters are amusing. Anyway, I really enjoy this book. ( )