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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton
Creators: Edward Hutchings, Albert R. Hibbs
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $2.35
You Save: $13.60 (85%)
New (45) Used (90) from $2.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  233 reviews
Sales Rank: 2488
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 350
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0393316041
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.0924
EAN: 9780393316049
ASIN: 0393316041
Publication Date: April 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Acceptable; wear and feathering to cover and curls to cover and pages - text clean - sturdy book
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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
Product Description
The outrageous exploits of one of this century's greatest scientific minds and a legendary American original. In this phenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard P. Feynman recounts in his inimitable voice his adventures trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador, accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums and much else of an eyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. A New York Times bestseller; more than 500,000 copies sold.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 228 more reviews...
 Breezy and informative read for any scientist! October 10, 2008
The reviews here claim that Feynman was an egotist and it stained the reading of this book. However, I disagree completely. Feynman never claims to be self-deprecating or modest. In fact, I appreciate his candidness!
I was afraid to read this book because it was recommended to me by a Physics graduate student, and because I am not one to enjoy nonfictions. However, this book reads like a novel. Each chapter is another story or era of Feynman's life. It's like an excited little kid talking to you-- no complex sentences or incomprehensible jargon. I finished it in just a few days, and I was left wanting more! I am not a physicist at all, and Feynman only briefly mentions certain Physics concepts to describe what he was doing with them, usually finishing them off with a "yadda yadda yadda" or the like. You don't have to be a Physicist or a genius to enjoy this book. It's breezy and short, and you can read it in pieces. It will make you smile, and if you happen to also be a scientist, it will make you think (but not too hard). I recommend it to all of my friends!
 What an egotist September 10, 2008
I read this book with the hope of gaining more insight into Dr. Feynman. While it is indisputable that the man was a physics genius and that he was a phenominal help during the Manhattan project, I grew tired of his incessant contempt for anything or anyone that he didn't approve of. Much of the book is spent with him trying to outmatch and outwhit those in fields that he considers inferior to physics, such as pure mathematics and philosophy. It grows tiresome reading this after a while and the book left me with no better understanding of this distinguished scholar.
Feynman never got out of his box, because he never had one! June 22, 2008
Part physicist, part prankster, part musician, part teacher, part genius, part story teller, part little boy and all human being, this is the true story of Richard Feynman. He was a man with an insatiable curiosity, and had a zest to explore the world of physics, human nature and himself.
The stories in the book are funny, entertaining and enlightening. Feynman never got out of his box, because he never had one. From the gifted young boy who fixed radios by thinking to the top notch physicist who could explain concepts to laymen like no one else, Feynman was one of a kind.
Well worth the read!
The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking
gift for someone else June 1, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
this was a gift for a family member. it arrived quickly and in great condition
 Doesn't live up to his own hype May 7, 2008
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Although Mr. Feynman is undoubtedly a smart man, with many things to credit to his name, this book seemed like nothing but his attempt to show how smart he was and is. However he comes off as extremely arrogant and pompous, the problem being that his anecdotes are ruined by his comments on how stupid others are compared to himself. Almost every other paragraph is a story in which he felt he outsmarted someone, but in reality, his accomplishments seem very exaggerated and insignificant. The way he talks about not being considered a sissy by struggling against his frat brothers, outsmarted the waitress with dumb puzzles, and outwitted his frat when stealing a door are NOT impressive in the least, and I feel that a average person could accomplish the same things. The fact that he writes about it in a manner so that he tries to make himself some child genius is what ruins the book and makes him seem stupider rather than smarter. I'm sorry Mr. Feynman, you may be a great physicist, but you must be joking if you think you're a writer, and a clever one at that. I may not be able to solve physics problems like you, but I can assure you...I am much more clever if compared to your life stories (and that's not saying much).
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