Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “One of the funniest men in physics has to have been Richard P. Feynman. This is made very obvious by his book Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!, a collection of his stories about his life. These stories were told to Ralph Leighton, who heard them while he and Feynman drummed, and Leighton...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 3 members found this review helpful “What a dick. Sure, the guy helped create the atom bomb and won a Nobel Prize in physics, but he should keep his stories about fucking and charming everyone to himself. |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“I read this book as an extra credit assignment for physics class but was surpirsed by how much I liked it. The book is written by a man who is famous for giving physics lectures. The book is not only interesting it is also very funny, the book talks about Richards childhood and early love of science. Though the topic does not seem exciting the book is very enjoyable and I found myself laughing through mostof the chapters
RIKKI W wrote this review 11 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
”
“This book is the Prequel to "What Do You Care What Other People Think." Just like the other, I really enjoyed this book for a few parts of it, then the rest I got lost. There were confusing parts in this book also, that made me skip around and find myself almost falling asleep. These books are aimed for people that really love and understand science. I do like science, which is why I had an open mind, but I didn't understand all of the facts that Dr. Richard Feynman was explaining in the book. I took a lot of notes while reading this book, so hopefully I can begin to reread them and try to understand more. I read this book for physics class, and I'm going to write a movie review on it, which is why the notes are a great place to start and help me better understand the text. I advise readers to read this book before the other book by Dr. Feynman, and to only read it if you like scientific books!”
SASHA Z wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Mr. Feynman's story is riveting, funny, and intriguing. His writing is often brilliant and always entertaining. This short collection of essays makes you want to be like Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicists with a sense of humor, a knack for impressing people, a penchant for chasing girls at every stage in his career, and a genius mind that can defuse any situation.”
Brian Reitz wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! is a unique book for many reasons. It is made up of short stories about Richard Feynman’s life, but isn’t written by Feynman. It is actually written by his friend, Ralph Leighton. Leighton heard these stories as Feynman retold them, and collected them and turned them into this book, which recounts Feynman’s interesting life. I love the fact that all of his stories are informal, no matter the topic. Whether talking about the army, or his time at MIT, Feynman always uses an interesting and fun to read tone. He doesn’t care about his reputation, and although he went to some of the best schools in the US, he doesn’t sound precocious or stuck up. His tone is so lax, that it sounds as if he is writing to the reader, and you are having a casual conversation with Feynman. When reading his book, it feels like you are sitting in a coffee shop, just having an easy conversation with him about his life.
Devorah K wrote this review Sunday, November 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I also really enjoyed his book, because he is very honest, and isn’t afraid to share details that many writers would never write about. His book goes into great detail about his love life, as well as his science life. He has many great details about love such as this,
“At last the dormitory was built. I went down to the place where rooms were assigned, and they said, you can pick your room now. You know what I did? I looked to see where the girls’ dormitory was, and then I picked a room that looked right across—though later I discovered a big tree was growing right in front of the window of that room.” (p. 112) He holds nothing back, which adds to the informal, playful aspect of the book.
His humor is evident throughout his book, and keeps the reader interested in his many stories about life. One of the first stories “Who Stole the Door?” tells of his years in college. There was a two door room in his fraternity, and after someone stole the first door, Feynman thought it would be funny to steal the second door. When asked if he stole the door, he admits he did it, and just plays it down. The head of fraternity tells Feynman to stop kidding around, and doesn’t believe that he is telling the truth. After they ask everyone in the fraternity, and he is the only person to admit it, he is still not taken seriously, which just shows something about his character. He was always a trickster, and making funny jokes, that when he admitted to stealing the door, everyone just thought he was making a joke. He was never taken seriously, which is something that made his book very enjoyable.
His humor is probably what makes this book the great book that it is, and makes physics, and science as a whole so interesting. He is able to make everything interesting using humor. Whether it is science, mathematics, love, or just everyday life, Feynman has a way of reeling in the reader and making his point in a sarcastic, funny way. He reminds me of my physics teacher, Mr. Schott. They both have a love for science, and love to make cheesy jokes about science and mathematics. Physics can sometimes be a boring topic, but when using humor and sarcasm, anything can be made fun.
Overall, I would say this was a worthwhile book, and a fun read. I liked his style and use of short stories to make one book. His humor is great, and surprisingly doesn’t get old. This book is definitely a page turner, and a unique book I think anyone would enjoy.
”
“Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (auto-bio) 317pp Spring-86”
Peter C wrote this review Friday, November 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I found this at a store while I was waiting for a bus,(I liked the title) and finished by the time I got home...it was a five hour trip,two on on B.C. Ferries, I needed something to read! I wouldn't have been able to say anything intellegent to him, but I would have liked to have meet Richard Feynman, with this book you can (well sort of...)”
Robin H wrote this review Tuesday, November 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I read this book approximately every two years and always get something from it. I don't think it is a book for everyone, but there are some good lessons to be learned from it.”
Daniel D wrote this review Monday, November 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“In this book, Richard Feynman recounts detail of his life. From his building of radios as a kid to his cracking open of locks at Los Alamos. He did many amazing and stunning things in his life and it was a great read. He talks about how he got in to psychics and he tells stories of meet some of the greats. He thought at Brazil and came out of the experience with a view of how great our educational system is and how different it was in Brazil (at least in the world of psychics). He was one of the workers on the atomic bomb and has many great stories about his time working at Los Alamos. The book is exciting and a really fun book to read, I couldn’t put it down.”
SCOTT F wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“First read it and then enter the world of science.”
monosarkar wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
