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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) Paperback – April 17, 1997
| Richard P. Feynman (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
| Ralph Leighton (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
| Edward Hutchings (Editor) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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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- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication dateApril 17, 1997
- Dimensions5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
- ISBN-100393316041
- ISBN-13978-0393316049
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Review
- 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
About the Author
Richard P. Feynman (1918–1988) was a professor at Cornell University and CalTech and received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965. In 1986 he served with distinction on the Rogers Commission investigating the space shuttle Challenger disaster.
Ralph Leighton lives in northern California.
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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
- Best Sellers Rank: #302,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #92 in Science & Scientists Humor
- #162 in Science Essays & Commentary (Books)
- #753 in Scientist Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

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.

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.
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The book is not tightly organized but it is smartly written. Guys like Einstein, Feynman, Carl Sagan will all wrestle from time to time with the non-scientific question of what preceded the Big Bang, if only by asking fleetingly if there is some principle of causation behind it all. Obviously I don't know if God exists or what it all means. But it is hard for me to think that such a towering intellect encased in such a lovely witty and wise person results from mere accident. I'll go no further.
The last chapter is something else entirely: an entire philosophy and ethos of scientific thought rolled into a few pages. I found Feynman's principles and ideals for scientific integrity almost unbelievably precious: to never compromise on experimentation, to never make claims you can't back up with hard evidence, and most importantly, to never fool yourself into thinking that you're more right than you actually are.
Although only the scientifically or mathematically trained will understand much about Feynman's actual work, his life philosophy and its implications are something that everyone can benefit from. The world would be a better place if each of us tried to replicate just a little of his intellectual integrity. I almost didn't believe such beautiful, pure intellectual idealism wasn't possible until I read this book.
Feynman was a renowned physicist, a Nobel prize winner and he served on important congressional commissions, yet he looked at life through the eyes of a child. He traveled the world, learned new languages and cultures, learned to play musical instruments, learned to paint (especially favoring nude women) and entered every relationship with a sincere interest in learning something new.
For me, this book was a reminder not to take life too seriously, and not to worry what others think. I was referred to this book by my son. I have no idea how he heard about it, but I’m glad he did.
Today, with increasing focus on the importance of science in our society, Feynman’s humorous, self-deprecating “scientific perspective” offers us a way forward.
Did I mention this book is very funny? At many points, I found myself laughing out loud. Feynman’s distain for social science, his frustration with bureaucracy and his love of women are recurring themes that are the source of much of Feynman’s (occasionally politically incorrect) humor.
Highly recommended! ... especially for a young person interested in science and living a full, meaningful life.
This casual telling of myriad anecdotes from Feynman's life is precious and airy, even when dealing with early nuclear secrets, death, and other heavy topics.
If you're not sold on buying this book, be sure to watch several of the popular Richard Feynman videos on YouTube. This book is better than any of them. Enjoy.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in India on October 7, 2017
I'm no native English speaker and I had no problems following it.
I would recommend it to anyone interested (even slightly) in science, but as well to anyone who feels that he/she has to say something in this world.
A beautiful history of a man who always lived his life as he wanted and did it brilliantly!
Not to these eyes.
The text is a collection (I insist: an accumulation, not a connected set of essays) written by the late Dr Feynman, roughly along his life. These are more - mere - anecdotes, yet not experiences. It starts when the author is a child and from there the anecdotes carry on through an adolescence, youth, maturity, manhood and professional success.
But the problem is what I mentioned above: these are loose things that happened to the man, some funny-ish, some mildly interesting, almost all plainly forgettable. I couldn't mention one either remarkable or memorable. The reader, half way into each of the chapters, expects a bomb that does not happen. So in the end (if you manage to get there) the result is quite disappointing.
It is a fact that Dr Feynman was a very intelligent man; he was not a very good writer.
Now I am experimenting with my life everywhere.










