Amazon.com: Customer reviews: “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2023

It's so rare to find a great scientist with the breadth of talent needed to express himself clearly to everybody. It's also unusual to find a human being whose honesty is so closely intertwined with imagination as to become a delight! I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this after more than 30 years, when I actually used it as inspirational bedtime stories for my young son.

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MikeVB

Richard Phillips Feynman

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2023

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Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! is a book I could not put down. I read it in two evenings which left me wanting more. From his humble beginnings in Far Rockaway Queens as a high school prodigy to MIT (SB) at the age of 17 and then on to Princeton (Ph.D.), to Cornell and eventually Caltech and the Nobel Prize for pioneering QED this is an autobiography of one of the greatest minds ever in theoretical physics. Baudy, brash with a dynamic flare all his own, a born storyteller with gift of gab and an extremely inquisitive nature who also immersed himself in music and art. Everything he tried his hand at he excelled in. The loves of life and his family were also shared so it was not all technical. His descriptions of his work on the Manhattan Project with Oppenheimer and at Oak Ridge are riveting as is his work on the Rogers Commission to solve the root cause of the Challenger disaster. Those memories give a rare look inside the bureaucracy of NASA and how the upper management tried to hide a known defect in the design of the SRBs. That accident was preventable and Professor Feynman exposed numerous shortcomings in their processes which befuddled Secretary Rogers who had been tasked by President Reagan not to embarrass NASA! In Feynman’s second book “What Do You Care What Other People Think? He devoted half the book to the inner workings of the Rogers Commission and the controversy that arose once the final report was being prepared. I give five stars to his second book as well. My heroes in science have always been Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Richard Phillips Feynman now joins that elite duo in my picks for perhaps the greatest scientist ever.

8 people found this helpful

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Patricia Jagels

Excellent service

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2023

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All good

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connerg

Very good and interesting

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2023

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It’s sad that so many “”“provisional””” people who are still alive have had movies made about them. This man actually deserves one. Go watch some of his interviews and lectures for more, this book is just the tip of the iceberg for the greatness in this guy. After I have learned how to properly use the Feynman technique to self educate, it is remarkable how much more I’ve been able to teach myself than any of my teachers. I wish I knew the Feynman technique when I was a kid… : ( it really shows how fractured the educational system is; so few people are capable of educating themselves it’s sickening. You’d think a student’s ability to educate themselves would be the focal point of public education. There is nothing more valuable than an understanding of how to actually learn. “It’s not because I’m smarter, the principles I know are just different.” - Richard Feynman

3 people found this helpful

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Friya Hawk

One of my fav book

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023

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This is one my favorite books and glad to buy it. The paperback edition is good. Wish it had the original cover.

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Xiangqin Cui

Great book, good read! Would not recommend for school projects though.

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2020

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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. Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! is an excellent collection of stories from throughout Richard Feynman's Life, and is a great tale of in a way, what everyone could be if we all just had a little bit of a more creative mind. He doesn't have any particular special trait that makes him a great person, it's just that he is curious, and that leads him down the great paths in life that he goes down, from his house as a child fixing radios, to great schools such as MIT and Princeton. I find in particular that his open-mind leads to a lot of friends and opportunities, such as being curious enough that he joined a biology class in grad school while knowing little in the way of biology. The places where he goes is a demonstration of sorts of Richard Feynman's progression as a character. he begins as a child and progresses to MIT, where it's clear he knows more, but his knowledge is not fully developed. After, progressing to MIT, then to Princeton, then to work for the US developing the nuclear bomb, where it is clear he has gained a lifetime of experience and knowledge. I find his collection of stories remarkable, as he tells about his experiments from watching his dreams, to understanding how ants find their paths. I could not recommend this book for school projects, however, as the stories have extremely connection to each other. I would still recommend this book as a read though, as it is fantastic to hear about how he learned to deal with the fact that one of his first lectures was in front of Einstien, and other fascinating tales. 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. In his stories, he never gives all of the details away at once, only what is required. As Bill Gates once put it, "you feel like you are discovering alongside him". This style of teaching is evident in his story, as when he talks, he talks about the story slowly so that you don't know what will happen until the very end. Again, he represents as a human what everyone could be, just if only they had a little more creativity, and the mind and passion to pursue those traits to whatever path they lead down. I thoroughly believe everyone should read this book, as it is both international, and entertaining

16 people found this helpful

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Darryl C.

A rare genius, a layman with an incredible sense of humor

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023

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A collection of stories you'll love. The poor kid, a genius with a good heart and great sense of humor.

Even at his first day at the big name university, he is so humble and is intimidated by no one. He's so lovable, and can explain anything in plain, very plain English. Member of Manhatten project & Rogers commission. Unbelievable sense of humor. You'll want to repeat his stories to your friends.

It's written word-for-word from interviews which makes it an easy-read. It's like he's talking to you.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazonia

If you would like to know more about this renaissance man, read on!

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2019

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This one gets a the gold star!

A quick read, and very interesting! You will really get some insight into the man's life, personality, and drive. Really! He has a unique style, which my words are perhaps a bit weak to describe accurately. And, he may not be for those easily disturbed, or who cannot take things with maybe a grain of salt. I admit, some things were maybe "too much information", but maybe you will find the humor in the situations he was in, as I did. I get the feeling he was maybe a bit of a $#!^ disturber, but, I suppose that is who he was! No, maybe it was just that he had no tolerance for pokey poo poos, and was not afraid to confront the absurd- and also, to try to find solutions to these problems!

Wowza! I mean, I really got the feeling that I had had a personal conversation with the man, if that is possible. Or should I say, with the scientist. I'm willing to bet you will feel the same. Kind of reminds me of that one uncle everyone has who has had so many experiences but still can make you laugh about them, even when they're...hmm, questionable? Inappropriate? Hee Hee!

There are many great chapters, but I have to say, among the favorites are the ones about cooking, painting, and education. Yes, yes, education definitely. Oh, and let's not forget, cultural revelations! I think you can also find a lot of insight on other levels, if you look for it. Kind of like electrons jumping orbitals, this one will collide into you with some new-found energies and excite you! Just take a gander, I'm sure you will enjoy! The style is a bit different from, say, QED, but then again, that is a different type of book. This is more reality with a bit of sparkling glitter obscurity ala David Bowie in the Labyrinth. In fact, I get the feeling he would enter a room, and this translucent cloud would surround him; thence he would proceed to meander through these wafting pillows of wind, seemingly nonchalantly but actually with the precision of a master pool player hitting a ball with a cue putting into motion some sort of Rube Goldberg machine... only with ideas! Read more and you will understand what I speak of. This book is equipped with many levels, like a mirror reflecting itself into eternity; what more could you expect, from a Physicist?

14 people found this helpful

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Lynn D

A Must Read.

Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2023

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Feynman is not only a world class scientist, but he is as entertaining as a comic. He makes science fun.

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Ryan Fitzpatrick

MUST READ

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2015

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I’m very glad I chose this book because it has opened my eyes to the sciences. This book was a series of short stories categorized in chronological order from Nobel Prize winning physicist, Richard Feynman’s life. He starts the book with a story about how he fixes a broken radio by just problem solving. Throughout the book Richard looks for ways to constantly learn, look for problems, and most importantly find for solutions. Later in the book Richard talks about how he was on a honeymoon with his second wife in Mexico, and at a museum he stopped and bought some books that happened to be on sale. This is a great example of Richard’s willingness to constantly learn. As he learns more and more he questions more, and get the reader to start reconsidering ways they think and learn. I would most definitely recommend this book to others, and more specifically I would recommend this to high school and college students that are interested in the sciences or high intellectual thinking.
This author tended to use lots of bold words in either caps or italics to emphasize different main points in each anecdote. Also through the book he used great dialogue to help show the reader the event instead of telling them, “I’d see water running out of a faucet growing narrower and wonder if I cold figure out what determines that curve” (P.173). Here he explains to his friend another object that he begins to examine and question, and try to provide answers to his inquiry. Also the author perpetually uses personification, hyperbola’s, and different kinds of figurative language to appeal to your senses to make a boring examination of nuclear reactor more interesting, “Or: nuclear reactor…Under water… Water goes in… Steam goes out the other side… Air then comes rushing to the front. Heated up by nuclear reaction… BOOM! Pshshshsht- it’s a submarine!” (P.181). The author’s usage of stylistic elements is very effective because using words like ‘Pshshshsht’ helps contrast the large amount of high intellectual thoughts and ultimately make the memoir more informal. By creating a more informal and at sometimes funny pranks or what not, it helps you connect and relate more with the character. The audience that that this style will work best is with the groups of people I had previously recommend: high school & college students because they need the break of high intellectual thoughts and really connect to individuals over humorous events. Audiences that might not enjoy this type of style would be more serious and professional types of people like lawyers, or doctors.

4 people found this helpful

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