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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) Paperback – April 17, 1997

by Richard P. Feynman (Author), Ralph Leighton (Author), Edward Hutchings (Editor),
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 12,224 ratings
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A New York Times bestseller―the outrageous exploits of one of this century's greatest scientific minds and a legendary American original.

Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. Here he recounts in his inimitable voice his experience trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek; cracking the uncrackable safes guarding the most deeply held nuclear secrets; accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums; painting a naked female toreador. In short, here is Feynman's life in all its eccentric―a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, and raging chutzpah.

Black-and-white photographs throughout
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Feynman Series
  2. Print length
    352 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    April 17, 1997
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0393316041
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0393316049
  9. See all details
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  1. I learned there that innovation is a very difficult thing in the real world.
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  2. They had wasted all their time memorizing stuff like that, when it could be looked up in fifteen minutes.
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  3. Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that’s the end of you.
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A series of anecdotes 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 his engagingly eccentric book, a bestseller ever since its initial publication in 1985. 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 simply as a bunch of hilarious yarns with the smart-alecky author as know-it-all hero. At some point, however, attentive readers realize 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 vigor and verve in his no-bull prose. No wonder his students--and readers around the world--adored him. --Wendy Smith

Review

“A storyteller in the tradition of Mark Twain. He proves once again that it is possible to laugh out loud and scratch your head at the same time.”
- New York Times Book Review

“Quintessential Feynman―funny, brilliant, bawdy . . . enormously entertaining.”
- The New Yorker

“Buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist.”
- Science Digest

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (April 17, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393316041
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393316049
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 12,224 ratings

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  1. Richard P. Feynman

    Richard P. Feynman

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    Richard P. Feynman was born in 1918 and grew up in Far Rockaway, New York. At the age of seventeen he entered MIT and in 1939 went to Princeton, then to Los Alamos, where he joined in the effort to build the atomic bomb. Following World War II he joined the physics faculty at Cornell, then went on to Caltech in 1951, where he taught until his death in 1988. He shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965, and served with distinction on the Shuttle Commission in 1986. A commemorative stamp in his name was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2005.

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  2. Edward Hutchings

    Edward Hutchings

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  3. Bill Gates

    Bill Gates

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  4. Ralph Leighton

    Ralph Leighton

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    Ralph Leighton (born 13 November 1949) is a biographer, film producer, and friend of the late physicist Richard Feynman. He recorded Feynman relating stories of his life. Leighton has released some of the recordings as The Feynman Tapes. These interviews became the basis for the books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, which were later combined into the hardcover anniversary edition Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character. Leighton is an amateur drummer and founder of the group Friends of Tuva. In 1990 he wrote Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey.

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
12,224 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book very readable, funny, and engaging. They describe the storyteller as inspiring and instructive. Readers praise the intelligence as powerful, imaginative, and intuitive. They also mention that the discussion of scientific ideas is always light but insightful. Customers find Feynman interesting and compelling. They appreciate the wonderful mix of honesty, humor, and keenly intelligent remarks on science.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ReadabilityStory tellerIntelligenceInterestHonestyHumorPacing
548 customers mention "Readability"510 positive38 negative

Customers find the book interesting, funny, and insightful. They also describe it as a great piece of literature. Readers mention the content is smartly written and full of glee.

"An amazing book that touches on so many areas, and it’s really just a book of stories from Feynman’s life...." Read more

"5 stars for the content and as he would have said it, stream of consciousness style...." Read more

"...Now I did and I'm glad I did because I found it one of the most funny and insightful books that I've read recently...." Read more

"The book is a great piece of literature that demonstrates the lack of necessity for there to be a continuous progression of story in books today...." Read more

260 customers mention "Story teller"251 positive9 negative

Customers find the storyteller brilliant, engaging, and fun to read. They say the stories provide a personal and deep view into Feynman's insatiable curiosity. Readers also mention the book is entertaining and rich with adventure.

"Very educative and inspiring book." Read more

"...Five stars, recommended for people who want to read an interesting and fun book." Read more

"...Nevertheless, the book was one of the most interesting ones I have read in quite a while...." Read more

"...I find his collection of stories remarkable, as he tells about his experiments from watching his dreams, to understanding how ants find their paths...." Read more

177 customers mention "Intelligence"169 positive8 negative

Customers find the book intelligent. They say it provides insight into the thinking of a great physicist. Readers also appreciate the imaginative, intuitive, and smart view on life. They mention the discussion of scientific ideas is always light but insightful. Readers appreciate the clarity of thought and valuable advice.

"Very educative and inspiring book." Read more

"An amazing book that touches on so many areas, and it’s really just a book of stories from Feynman’s life...." Read more

"5 stars for the content and as he would have said it, stream of consciousness style...." Read more

"...Throughout the book, there is this honest, smart, jokingly view on life. Feynman did experiments...." Read more

157 customers mention "Interest"150 positive7 negative

Customers find the book interesting. They say it helps show Feynman's inquisitive personality. Readers also appreciate his original thinking and genius.

"...The sections on the Manhattan Project were especially interesting, giving a glimpse at the other great minds making the first atomic bomb...." Read more

"...His style is interesting, one I have never seen before, and if you have seen any of his lectures, you will know what I am referring to...." Read more

"...There are many interesting passages in the book, and one of the things I really admired about him was his broad view of education, particularly..." Read more

"...and inspirational stories of a brilliant and engaging thinker, inventor, and friend." Read more

34 customers mention "Honesty"34 positive0 negative

Customers find the book honest, candid, and funny. They say it's a personal look at the mindset of a goofy genius. Readers also appreciate the home truths and wisdom presented in the tone of the book.

"...Throughout the book, there is this honest, smart, jokingly view on life. Feynman did experiments...." Read more

"...The tone of the book is honest, unpretentious and decidedly cheeky.And for the same reasons, it has a lot to teach...." Read more

"...This book is self referential without being autobiographical...." Read more

"...Mr. Feynman has a very open minded attitude when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge or anything else and it is shown throughout his various..." Read more

21 customers mention "Humor"18 positive3 negative

Customers find the humor in the book mischievous, irreverent, and quirky. They say it has funny moments and a joking view on life. Readers also mention the book captures the oddity and humanity of one of the great minds.

"...Throughout the book, there is this honest, smart, jokingly view on life. Feynman did experiments...." Read more

"...etc. and he's caring, quirky and hyper-inquisitive...." Read more

"Obviously the most curious person who ever lived. Kind of quirky and funny too!..." Read more

"...He does sound stand-offish sometimes, but this is Feynman, weird, anachronistic, curious, and always hungry to know more than what's in front of him...." Read more

31 customers mention "Pacing"10 positive21 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some mention it's honest, unpretentious, and delightful. However, others say it's ordinary, pedestrian, and boring.

"...Not properly a textbook, this is a pop science book, meaning is not trying to properly teach to anything...." Read more

"...The book is not tightly organized but it is smartly written...." Read more

"...The tone of the book is honest, unpretentious and decidedly cheeky.And for the same reasons, it has a lot to teach...." Read more

"...of stories as dictated by Feynman himself, which at first is slightly off-putting. His prose is somewhat terse and clunky...." Read more

An ok experience with this used book
5 out of 5 stars
An ok experience with this used book
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!By Richard P. FeynmanFirst Edition, Paperback.Size (Roughly): 20.5 x 13.5 x 2.8 centimeters.Book sold by "bellwetherbooks" on Amazon.Announced in "Like New" condition with the next description: LIKE NEW/UNREAD!!! Text is Clean and Unmarked! Has a small black line on edge of pages. Tracking is not available for orders shipped outside of the United States.No tracking information given by the seller as offered, it arrive a few days later than it should've had. Not properly a textbook, this is a pop science book, meaning is not trying to properly teach to anything.A good book by Feynman whatsoever.Nice book
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Top reviews from the United States

JN
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good.
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2024
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Very educative and inspiring book.
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DAC_Houston
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to believe this guy was a serious physicist
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2024
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Most of the book is about tricks and schemes he played on others. They are interesting and sometimes funny, but it's hard to believe that he was a serious Nobel physicist.
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ZVarwig
4.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn’t Get Written Today
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2024
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5 stars for the content and as he would have said it, stream of consciousness style. One of a kind person with very little regard for “normal” social conventions. A 20th century intellectual and adventurer.

3 stars for the rambling and sometimes off focus story telling. Found myself speed reading a few sections thinking “ok Feynman get on with it, we get, you’re amazing.”
One person found this helpful
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Gabriel Hernandez
5.0 out of 5 stars Feynman was an awesome dude. Hear it from him.
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
An amazing book that touches on so many areas, and it’s really just a book of stories from Feynman’s life.
Group think, logical fallacies, epistemology, and integrity are just a handful of themes.

The best chapters are Judging Books by their Covers, where Feynman realizes what a goat rope the textbook industry is and basically explains indirectly why American kids get a substandard education compared to the rest of the west, and Cargo Cult Science. In that chapter Feynman speaks to the problems of science and its incentives. It explains the climate hysteria without speaking to it. It speaks to the nonsense about structural racism without speaking to it.

And it confirmed to me that humans are stupid people exceptionally willing to fool themselves.
4 people found this helpful
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Tomas Goodwin
5.0 out of 5 stars Not An Ordinary Genius
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
I only know Mr. Feynman from using his physics text as a freshman in college in the 1960's. Reading this autobiography gives me what I think is an accurate description of the whole person. He was a genius in the physics, but he also had a wide range of other talents. The book is filled with tales of learning to draw, playing the drums, learning Portugeuse, cracking safes --- and always his love of beautiful women.
Don't expect any great writing. I was reading some essays by Joan Didion at the same time, so his pedestrian prose was very evident. Nevertheless, the book was one of the most interesting ones I have read in quite a while. There were many "chapters" of just one or two pages which included some random anecdote that made you laugh or made you think.
The book is somewhat chronological, but it often skips randomly from here to there. In one chapter he talks about a woman he met in a bar using terms such whores and bitch. A chapter later he is discussing numerical approximations of logarithms. I saw the excellent video: "Richard Feynman - No Ordinary Genius" where he was trying to explain the way he thinks when he solves problems. He tried his best, but ended up saying the process just couldn't be described in words.
The sections on the Manhattan Project were especially interesting, giving a glimpse at the other great minds making the first atomic bomb. And then there was the concern for security, which was negated by Feynman's ability to retrieve documents from any safe at Los Alamos or Oak Ridge.
Throughout the book I got the impression that he was trying very hard to show himself as a well rounded guy. He did not want to be thought of as living in an ivory tower. Hence we get the stories of drawing nudes in a topless bar near CalTech, playing the tambourine at the Carnaval in Rio and talking to Nick the Greek in Vegas. But in a later chapter he would declare that all other educational disciplines paled in comparison to physics.
After reading the book I would say that Mr. Feynman definitey passes my test of "Would I have liked to sit next to this person on an airplane for a few hours?
4 people found this helpful
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Bas Vodde
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent short stories of a curious character indeed
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2013
Verified Purchase
"Surely you're joking, Mr Feynman" has been on my reading list for a long time, but I never got myself to actually read it. Now I did and I'm glad I did because I found it one of the most funny and insightful books that I've read recently. It's a biography but consisting of short stories of interesting events that happened in the life of Nobel Prize Winner Richard Feynman who seemed to have a special talent of getting himself into interesting situations.

The book consist of 5 parts, which are roughly equal to five important periods in Feynman's life. These are: 1) His early pre-university life, 2) His university life, 3) Involvement in the Manhattan project, 4) Early years as a professor, and 5) Later years as a physicist and professor. Each of these parts consist of small chapters that tell a situation (usually funny or weird) in which he got himself and his usually odd reactions in that situation.

Throughout the book, there is this honest, smart, jokingly view on life. Feynman did experiments. Not just experiments in physics but experiments in life. He would try out things to see if he could do it or to see how people would react. That attitude of experimenting and learning always got him in weird situations and this book is full of those. Example? As a boy trying to imitate Italian (and getting away with it). Removing doors from classmates and so honestly admitting that he did it that nobody believed him (hilarious!). Pick-locking safes. Playing Brazilian instruments. Doing out to Vegas to hand out with gamblers and show women. Proof reading secondary school science books and actually reading them :)

This was one of these books which I found myself laughing out loud quite often. Many of the stories made such an impression that I went off to tell other people about it as they stuck with me (especially the genius experiment with water, a glass and a tip). Everytime when I read more of it, I got more excited about the book and I was actually very sad when I finished the book. It is a book I'll probably re-read (and enjoy as much the second time). It isn't a book about physics or about a specific topic, it is purely a book about Richard Feynman... a curious character... indeed. Five stars, recommended for people who want to read an interesting and fun book.
29 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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J
5.0 out of 5 stars Quickly became one of my favourite biographies.
Reviewed in Canada on November 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book contains unforgettable and hilarious moments during the life of Richard Feynman.

It's a lovely book that takes you through the life of the 20th century physicist, which covers many aspects during Feynman's life.

It's a great book if you want to learn about the condition's of Los Alamos, or life as a professor at Caltech.
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Nagaraj Kamath
5.0 out of 5 stars Peer into the mind of a simple man
Reviewed in India on October 24, 2024
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I finally finished the book. It is surprising to know how the mind works, especially a persistent and curious one. To summarize, he just loved physics and pursued it at his whim. It is a good book that reflects the life of a physicist and how simple things always inspire discoveries.
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Arda Yörük
5.0 out of 5 stars Feynman'ın anılarından oluşan çok akıcı ve keyifli bir kitap
Reviewed in Turkey on August 31, 2024
Verified Purchase
Eğer bilime, şeylerin nasıl olduğuna ve arkasındaki hikayelere meraklıysanız soluksuz okuyabileceğiniz bir kitap. Feynman'ın üslubu her zamanki gibi çok akıcı ve keyifli. Tabii ki fizik, matematik ve analitik düşünmeye olan ilgisini kitabın her yerinde hissediyorsunuz.
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Heidl
5.0 out of 5 stars lesenswert
Reviewed in Germany on June 5, 2024
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Sehr humorvoll erzählt Mister Feynman Erlebnisse aus seinem Leben.
Kurzweilig und amüsant.
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Iñigo
5.0 out of 5 stars El gran Feynman en estdo puro
Reviewed in Spain on June 3, 2024
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Siempre es un gusto releer a Feynman y sus increíbles historias y esta vez en inglés.
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