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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),

1,318 customer reviews

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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.

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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

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“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

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Product details

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (April 17, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393316041
ISBN-13: 978-0393316049
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 1,318 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Science & Scientists
- #28 in Books > Science & Math > Essays & Commentary
- #163 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Scientists

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Humorous, honest, often irreverent--absolutely nothing negative to say!

July 3, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an extremely entertaining and often insightful collection by Nobel physicist Richard Feynman drawn from slices of his life experiences. Some might believe that the telling of a physicist’s life would be droll fare for anyone other than a fellow scientist, but in this instance, nothing could be further from the truth.

Dr. Feynman’s delight with life shines through everything--nothing gets him down for long. The reasons for this attitude are his ever-present compulsion to learn and discover, his urge to follow his insatiable curiosity (about everything!) wherever it might lead, his willingness to simply state whatever he thinks when asked, and his refusal to always take life so seriously. It is evident that Dr. Feynman has achieved what many can only dream of--living a meaningful and accomplished life while still being able to find absolute joy and fun in so much of how we spend that life.

It’s hard to imagine anyone that would not find this an interesting and enjoyable read. Although Dr. Feynman is a physicist, this is not a science book, and the reader really needs nothing in the way of a scientific background to fully enjoy it.

The book is divided into five parts corresponding to different parts of the author’s life. Within each part, the stories themselves are rarely more than half a dozen pages long, and none depend on the others. Although I read it cover-to-cover in order, it would be easy to open to any of the stories and read it independently. It is one of those books one could pick up when there are only a few minutes to read. But your experience may be like mine, and you may not want to put it down again!

Highly recommended for just about anyone!

29 people found this helpful30 people found this helpful

A wonderful book about a wonderful man

March 13, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

We are not often blessed with persons of the amazing intelligence of Richard Feynman. Even someone with just a smattering of science and math can appreciate this Nobel Prize winning, bongo drum playing, safe cracking denizen of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Here was a man of superior intellect who could yet relate to the world around him and who had a curious interest in many facets of human endeavor. That is coupled with obvious tenderness toward his first wife, who dies of TB during the Manhattan Project. Even as Feynman writes about that in tightlipped fashion, his deep love for her and sorrow for the loss comes through.

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.

8 people found this helpful9 people found this helpful

Practical Intellectual Ethics Disguised in Hilarity

February 15, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Feynman is a genius. The entire book is full of charming, intelligent, and surprisingly inspiring stories about the "curious character" that was the late, great Richard Feynman.

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.

8 people found this helpful9 people found this helpful

Endlessly diverting, informative, and funny.

April 26, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Richard Feynman is the exact brand of aloof, irreverent, genius that the world needs, at any and every time.

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.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

Entertaining book showing insight into Feynman's genius

September 27, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very entertaining book. Feynman was famous for taking a fresh, original approach in physics; he was always re-inventing the ideas for himself by thinking them through profoundly, starting from fundamentals. He made great contributions and won the Nobel Prize in Physics. This book is not so much about physics, instead some humorous stories and adventures, which show his fresh, original approach to life. I admire his enthusiasm, his love for adventure, his sparkling personality, his honesty and the clarity of his thought, and his disdain for pretense. The anecdotes give much insight into why Feynman was such a great physicist. If you want learn about physics, with his original approach on full display, his best two books are the famous "Feynman Lectures on Physics" (undergraduate courses at Caltech) and "QED, the Strange Theory of Light and Matter".

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Forget "read before you die." Read it now.

July 21, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A strangely inspiring and provocative book. It's hard to put into words the power of this book. Feynman's personality comes through so strongly that you rage against stupid bureaucrats, you see what it means to be an original thinker uninhibited by orthodoxy, you see one of the best explanations of the difference between genuine science and "cargo cult science" as Feynman calls it. You see one of the best explanations for why the California education system has such troubles, when you read his account of reviewing textbooks for the state. Somehow this book inspires you to be smarter, to be more original, and to be more intellectually honest.

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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