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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Unabridged)
 
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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

by Richard P. Feynman (Author), Raymond Todd (Narrator)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Audio Download
  • Listening Length: 11 hours and 34 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Unabridged
  • Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Audible Release Date: 15 Dec 1999
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002SPX8TU
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)

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Product Description

With his characteristic eyebrow-raising behavior, Richard P. Feynman once provoked the wife of a Princeton dean to remark, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" But the many scientific and personal achievements of this Nobel Prize-winning physicist are no laughing matter. In addition to solving the mystery of liquid helium, Feynman has been commissioned to paint a naked female toreador and asked to crack the uncrackable safes guarding the atomic bomb's most critical secrets. He has traded ideas with Einstein and Bohr, discussed gambling odds with Nick the Greek, and accompanied a ballet on the bongo drums. Here, woven with his scintillating views on modern science, Feynman relates the defining moments of his accomplished life.
©1985 by Richard P. Feynman; (P)1997 by Blackstone Audiobooks
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First Sentence
WHEN I WAS about eleven or twelve I set up a lab in my house. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful 18 Jan 2005
Format:Paperback
Richard Feynman was a great physicist, a truly original thinker and for many years a hero of mine.

This book is basically a collection of anecdotes about his life and his worldview. No scientific background is required to enjoy this book - it is fantastic - unremittingly entertaining and informative - accessible to all.

The stories cover, amongst other things: his childhood, his time at Los Alamos working on the atomic bomb (including his safe breaking escapades), failing his medical with the US Army for psychiatric reasons (you will never put your hands out in the same way again), learning Portuguese (and his reasons for selecting Portuguese over Spanish), learning to paint, learning the bongo drums and his general intolerance of stupidity.

Overall it is a fantastic and easy read - it is almost impossible not to enjoy this book

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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Surely an awesome read 23 April 2006
Format:Paperback
I love this book. I have read it many times and have also given it as a gift to a number of people all who have enjoyed it. To think that it is written by one of the greatest physicists of all time makes it all the more surprising. If there is one person who I would like to go back in time to meet it would be Mr Feynman.

The guy was a genius but also completely down to earth. If you read this book and go away with the impression that he was immodest and big headed like other reviewers felt I would be surprised. This is a man who felt embarressed by winning the Nobel prize, a guy who hated giving lectures at prestigous societies but would never give up a chance to lecture at a high school physics class, who went to Rio to join a Salsa band and march in the carnival, who spent much of his time as Las Alamos annoying the censors and learing how to crack safes. - A curious charater indeed.

All in all if you are interested either a) in physics, b) in interesting people or both read this book. If you want a more in depth but less personal view of Mr Feynman then read James Gleik's Genius.
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew Kerr VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I'm delighted to see how many other reviews there are for this fantastic book. For so long, I thought I was one of the few who'd discovered this book, but it seems not. And that's a Good Thing, because I think EVERYONE should read this book.

Yes, Richard Feynman possessed an incredible mind. Yes, he was a brilliant theoretical physicist. But more important than any of that was his lust for life, and thirst for knowledge. And it didn't matter to him what he learned - whether it was safecracking, playing bongo drums, mixing paints, or how to sleep with women!

This book is just Feynman's recollections, as dictated to the author. As a consequence, it's ridiculously easy to read - no highbrow theory or dull prose here.

If you have an ounce of curiosity in your body, buy this book. You will learn a great deal about science, and be fascinated by Feynman's stories. You'll also learn quite a lot about Feynman (and he was a thoroughly entertaining guy!), and most of all, you'll be infected with Feynman's own lust for life and thirst for knowledge.

When you finish it, you'll be sad that you never met this amazing man when he was alive. But console yourself in the knowledge that there's a lot more of Richard Feynman for you to discover in his other books.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book
Good book, well written. Book came very quickly, was a good price and was well packaged. Good service as usual.
Published 2 months ago by Terence Price
Made me laugh
My knowledge of physics is non-existent, yet I enjoyed this book very much.
That's because it's really the amusing biography of a truly remarkable man (Feynman was a Nobel... Read more
Published 3 months ago by susie
Hilarious!
This collection of Mr. Feynman's adventures is a very entertaining read. The stories vary from his childhood mischief to his encounters with Lady Luck in his adult
years. Read more
Published 11 months ago by gamblor
great, inspirational book
If you are looking for literature and fine writing, forget it. But if you are looking to spend time with an amusing and inspirational man, you can't be wrong. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Benoit
Welcome to the Richard Feynman show!
A book full of fascinating anecdotes, hilarious life stories and insightful scientific scenarios in the every day life of a truly special character. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sammy
Fantastic ...
A fantastic read for anyone interested in science, maths or physics or even someone who just likes reading interesting and funny autobiographies. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Paul Thomas
Terrific book
Richard Feynman was a genius and worked on a number of historically important projects, including the development of the atomic bomb. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mole
Ingenu Theoretician Who Missed A Lot But Scored Some Successes
About forty apparently first-person chapters or stories - collected by Ralph Leighton (who played the piano, and also drummed, with Feynman). Read more
Published 17 months ago by Rerevisionist
Brilliant
It is a very personal book about the life of this genius. The book is extremely funny and written in a way a child could read, with a large amount of adult lessons within. Read more
Published 18 months ago by D Mc Cann
Fun and Physics on time
This book apart from a couple chapters on maths (Feynman calls them basic) is a fascinating insight into a great brain. Not only informative, but amusing and sad all at once. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. Clifford D. Leftwich
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