Surely you're Joking Mr Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character Paperback – 7 Jun. 1992

Richard Feynman is one of the most wonderfully eclectic personalities of the 20th Century. A noble prize winning physicist, bongo player and artist this collection of memoirs recounts the myriad of crazy adventures and observations this man made during his most remarkable life. It was a pleasure to read, uplifting, funny and insightful, the man is an inspirational power house. If you've ever seen his lectures or heard him talk on documentaries then the words on the pages of this book will leap from the paper as you hear him speak them, his infectiously joyous personality bounds from page to page in a roaring adventure through his wonderful existence. It'll make you think for sure, it may make you cry, but most importantly of all it'll make you smile as you consider the world through the uniquely brilliant lens of this man's vast and quirky intellect.

Feynman is a genius, I am not. However, I also don't produce or research major theoretical physics papers in topless bars. Judge that as you may, but this book is a fascinating insight into the psyche of a genuine genius who seems to be as eccentric as you might expect a mad physicist to be. Feynman also has depth, passion and strong opinions on the development of science, research and education as well as drumming. Whilst the first half of this book is light and entertaining, the second half follows Feynman's passion more and I found it all the better for it. I was slightly disappointed the book didn't explore his personal life, but I'm not sure we're supposed to know - his professional and social life are intriguing enough. This is a thoroughly absorbing book and well worth the read.

I love this book. Constructed from a series of interviews, it covers Richard Feynman's life from childhood to probably the late 1970's.Clearly it's from his point of view, and only covers areas he felt like discussing, so there's very little about his marriage (although there is another book which has more detail on that), and nothing about the Challenger disaster (again, another book).But the anecdotes are interesting, some are hilarious, and I've managed to get my son to read and enjoy this as well. His time with the Manhattan Project is a particular source of amusement, and his move to Brazil is another rich fountain of anecdotes.The Big Bang Theory has probably brought his name to the attention of another generation of people.You've probably got at least 2 series' worth of material in this book.

Richard Feynman is a genius in an unconventional way. He has an original way of thinking about problems and never seemed to things to seriously as he says himself he likes to play with physics. The book is not all about physics and also filled with wonderful anecdotes from his college days to later in his life. Feynman has a variety of interests from fixing radios in his younger days, to picking locks whist working on the atomic bomb, playing the bongo drums and trying his hand at Brazilian and Japanese. Whilst the book doesn't follow a strict chronological order the reader never gets lost.In summary, its an excellent book in my opinion, its easy to read and whilst I am still not finished it I find it to be a breath of fresh air. Richard Feynman is a man who plays with things because he is interested in them and never takes things to seriously, he just has to quench his thirst for a solution. In my opinion he is guy who really enjoyed life to the full! When you read it you will see what I mean!

Started a bit slow with Feynman as a kid, but picked up the pace after he entered university, while he was working at Los Alamos etc. What a naughty naughty character Dick was. Reading some of his stories i have a hard time to believe that a Nobel prize laureate was so juvenile. He certainly lived a full life doing all shorts of things. After reading the book, it makes sense now why he achieved this legendary status also among outsiders.Now, there are some parts in which he talks about science and physics that will not be accessible to a layman, but which are really interesting for those who want to know how he thought about science, but there are not that many, so even a layman can skip some of the details.The important thing imho to get from this book is his attitude towards scientific integrity, imposters, fakers, authority figures, the arts and most importantly his curiosity to find a little more about the world.