Six Easy Pieces (Penguin Press Science) [Paperback]

Richard P Feynman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Press Science | Publication Date: September 24, 1998

An outstanding communicator, Richard P. Feynman inspired a generation of students with his energetic, unorthodox style of teaching. Drawn from his celebrated and landmark text Lectures on Physics, "Six Easy Pieces" reveals Feynman's distinctive style while introducing the essentials of physics to the general reader. The topics explored include atoms, the fundamentals of physics and its relation to other sciences, the theory of gravitation and quantum behaviour. 'If one book was all that could be passed on to the next generation of scientists it would undoubtedly have to be "Six Easy Pieces"' - John Gribbin, "New Scientist".

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book reprints the six easiest chapters from Feynman's celebrated Lectures on Physics (LJ 12/15/63), which the Nobel Prize-winning scientist delivered from 1961 to 1963 at the California Institute of Technology. Intended for as wide an audience as possible, these chapters are primarily qualitative in nature, with a minimum of formal mathematics. They discuss atoms, basic physics, the relation of physics to other sciences, the conservation of energy, gravitation, and quantum behavior. While this informative work provides a relevant historical perspective on the essentials of physics, the result is somewhat superficial. Nonetheless, because Lectures on Physics is out of print and because the information is still relevant, reprinting these specific chapters was probably a realistic move. The material will be readily understood by scholars, physics students, and informed lay readers. Recommended for academic and public libraries. (Audio tape and CD packages are also available.)-Donald G. Frank, Harvard Univ. Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Richard P. Feynman (1918-88) was one of this century's most brilliant and original thinkers. He taught at Cornell and the California Institute of Technology and received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in quantum electrodynamics. Books by Feynman published by Penguin include QED, and THE CHARACTER OF PHYSICAL LAW. Forthcoming: THE MEANING OF IT ALL (May 98) and SIX NOT-SO-EASY PIECES (September 98).

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Pen Press (September 24, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140276661
• ISBN-13: 978-0140276664
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,847,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feynman as an excellent teacher, April 16, 2002

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Six Easy Pieces: Essentials Of Physics Explained By Its Most Brilliant Teacher (Helix Book) (Paperback)

From 1961 to 1963, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman delivered a set of lectures to classes in basic physics. By design, the contents of the lectures were transcribed, with the goal being the creation of a set of materials that could be used worldwide in the teaching of physics. Unlike so many abstract scientists, Feynman was an excellent teacher, able to explain the principles by using everyday analogies and without appeal to advanced mathematics. This book is a collection of six of those lectures, chosen for their appeal to the general reader.
The titles and topics of the lectures are:

i) Atoms In Motion - an examination of the atomic theory of matter and how atoms react with each other.
ii) Basic physics - the history of physics before and after the discovery of quantum mechanics.
iii) The Relation of Physics to Other Sciences - how physics can be used to explain chemical, biological, geological and astronomical phenomena.
iv) Conservation of energy - the fundamental principle of conservation of energy, and how energy can change form.
v) The Theory of Gravitation - the development of the theory of gravity from Kepler to Einstein.
vi) Quantum behavior - an explanation of some simple thought experiments demonstrating the weirdness of quantum behavior.

Feynman is also honest with his audience in saying that in many cases, the mechanism is not known.
Since the lectures were delivered forty years ago, many advances have been made. However, they still remain an excellent introduction to the basic principles of physics and can be read and understood by anyone interested in how the universe functions. They can also still be used as primer material in a basic physics course.

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A few more tries like this and even I will begin to get it, February 27, 2001

By 

Frederick L. Merritt Jr. (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Six Easy Pieces: Essentials Of Physics Explained By Its Most Brilliant Teacher (Helix Book) (Paperback)

If you have been reading the reviews of this book you might be beginning to suspect that this book is a great place to start. You're right. Feynman uses easy to understand examples and relates them very well to his subject matter.
After I saw the 10 year anniversary edition to "A Breif History of Time" I felt guilty and I read my 10 year old copy. I should have read this book first. I would have been much better prepared to read the other. Both books were great but Feynman did a better job of relating the scientific to the mundane.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introductions by a great teacher, May 7, 2006

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher (Hardcover)

What happens when you take one of the most creative Nobel scientists ever and put him in front of a freshman physics class? This.

These essays were transcribed from a series of lectures in the early 1960s. Although the nominal purpose was to teach physics, the real goal was to convey the excitement of science and its relationship to the everyday world. A few points have aged, especially where Feynman connects biology, but the discussion as a whole is still informative and enjoyable.

This is a great book for just about any kind of reader: the serious scientist who wants to see Feynman's mind at work, or the interested layman who wants some math-free insight into the physics of the macro and micro worlds.

//wiredweird