Rating: 
Summary: Another kind of genius
Review: A friend recommended this book once, but after reading a few paragraphs, I did not find it very interesting and I moved on to something else. After a while he brought it up again and finally convinced me by reading me one whole chapter that made me laugh a lot. I am glad I finally gave in to this delightful and fascinating book.
It's been a long time since I have read a book which combines so perfectly humour, curiosity, intelligence, a very vivid language, and nice adventures of discovering the world.
Basically, the book speaks about the exploits of the Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Richard Feynman, an incredibly brilliant mind who was part of the research team that made the atomic bomb, but who doesn't know that if you put milk in your tea, you should not have lemon at the same time. Nor is he very good at socializing with women, yet he is a successful visiting professor at the most important universities in the US where he gives very challenging lectures.
These contrasting features make Richard Feynman a very appealing and lively character, and his book is a series of hilarious events that make you laugh out loud. He is so smart that he can break a safe in less than 15 minutes and so he made a habit of playing tricks on his colleagues by breaking the secret codes for their safes.
A multilateral personality, he studied also biology, art (he took art lessons and sold a few paintings), music. He was a scientist but not the stiff type; on the contrary, he was a very funny personality, full of sense of humour, with a childlike curiosity who tells his story with an incredible sincerity, a free spirit and enjoyable character.
It is a book I highly recommend for different reasons: readers will have the chance to meet a rare and admirable personality in a narrative marked with good quality humour.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank you Mr Ofey
Review: Mr Feynmann has shown us that while it pays to be good at what you do, life is far more interesting if you poke your nose into things you know little of. There are people who complain about how boring life is. Mr Ofey has shown us that the joy of discovering things can keep us young forever. I am sure if he lives to a thousand years old he will still be the same curious character we all love. Like most who read this book, I am sad that we can no longer enjoy his antics. This book changed my life.
Rating:
Summary: Admiring Mr. Feynman
Review: I just pulled Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman off my bookshelf for the first time in more than a year, and was immediately reminded of what an unusual, hilarious, compelling and intelligent book it is. I took it down for a friend to borrow, but before I would let it out of the house, I found time to re-re-read odd pages and passages, followed, of course, by a fair share of laughing out loud and shaking my head in wonder.The book isn't a biography as much as it is a simple collection of anecdotes. But when the anecdotes come from somebody with the story telling ability, the smarts and the optimism of Mr. Feynman, then that is plenty. To be fair, each time I re-read the book, it seems a little more dated -- not in the charming sense of old-fashioned values like wearing your best suit for a Sunday afternoon stroll and saving love letters in a box tied together by twine, but in the sense of context. We have to remember, for example, that the price Mr. Feynman paid for a bottle of champagne at one point would be a small fortune if it were stated in today's dollars, and that traveling from New York to Los Angeles was not something one could do on a moment's notice, as it is today. More seriously, Mr. Feynman's treatment of women -- as objects to be conquered and as the gender that "owes" men something in return for a couple of drinks or a dinner -- will today seem politically incorrect to people who dwell on those things. But there is too much great stuff between the book's covers to let those kinds of minor problems stand in the way. Of all the qualities Mr. Feynman shares about himself on the book's pages, the one that I like the most is his child-like curiosity: he seems to want to know everything how every thing works. Friends tell me I'm a bit like that myself and when I first made that connection I wondered if it was one of the reasons I was so enthralled by Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman -- and its follow-up, What Do You Care What Other People Think? -- starting from the moment I first picked it up and clear through many re-readings and many more years. But as I write it occurs to me that perhaps my personality developed that way in part because of my admiration for the characteristic in Mr. Feynman.
Rating:
Summary: He is so fascinating.. I wish I had met him!!
Review: Honestly, before reading this book, I did not know who Richard Feynman was. Now, I am in awe of him.
Feynman has an engaging stlye of writing, different from many story tellers. He writes as he thinks, or so it seems.
A MUST read for the following people and for the following reasons:
1. People who love physics as Feynman's passion for his subject shines in this book.
2. People who want to laugh out loud as some of the nuances of Feynman's life and his wit can create a riot.
3. If you think scientists are boring with no life.
4. If you miss meeting a great person like him as much as I do. For towards the end of the book, where Feynman writes about the responsiblities of a scientist, I relaized what a remarkable mentor he would have made to many many generations.
May his tribe increase! Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Genius is different
Review: This book recalled me of "Confessions" of Jean Jaques Rousseau. It is a really well written and worth reading. Feynman proves that he is not only a great physicist but also a great "actor"...
Rating:
Summary: Nobel laureate, bongo player, ladies¿ man and full of life
Review: As far as Nobel Prize winners go, Mr. Feynman surely must be the most interesting of the lot. This autobiography is a remarkable journey from Feynman's youth through to his golden years. He mostly covers his professional life but does touch upon personal incidents (disease and death of his first wife). Throughout his storied life, Mr. Feynman had worked on the Manhattan Project, lectured students on physics at premier universities, traveled and taught in Brazil and Japan, played the bongos and drums, frequented strip clubs, won a Nobel Prize, chased women, deciphered Mayan hieroglyphics and solved a space shuttle disaster mystery to name just a few adventures. The books consists of individual stories that cover major sections of his life (college years, Manhattan Project years, etc.) Throughout these stories, Feynman presents himself as a fellow who effortlessly found himself in odd and amazing situations. For instance, while playing a tambourine-like instrument in Rio de Janeiro, Feynman ended up in the Carnival festivities partying through the streets. With other such incidents, Feynman is one who has lived a full life. I would have loved to have met such a unique individual. As such, this book is a wonderful starting point.
Rating:
Summary: Really brings Feynman to life
Review: This series of anecdotes about the life of physicist Richard Feynman is a a great read for anyone, even if you have no interest in science. It definitely makes this scientist seem more human, but illuminates his brilliance in everyday affairs.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, great read. Feynman's life his own words.
Review: I truly felt that Dr Feynman was talking to me and introducing me to his world, and how he has experienced things through out his childhood, college and adult life. I recommend this for people with a background in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (like myself), and for those of you who have never heard of string theory or other phenomena Dr Feynman was famous for studying. For those of you who would like to learn more about Dr Feynman, this book is excellent.
For those of you who want to understand more of his work and the world in which he taught (more detailed information regarding his field), this book is probably not as good as the other Feynman books out there. Amazon has all of them, so you can easily find a great book by Feynman for your needs!
Rating:
Summary: Simply hilarious
Review: By far the best biography I've ever read
Rating: 
Summary: Physics Is No Laughing Matter
Review: Whie I understand that this Nobel Laureate may have made some significant contributions to the study a physics, I find it tremendously inappropirate to make a mockery of it. Where woud we be without gravity or even string theory? I don't know, but I certainly do not want to go there. The honorable physician should take his job seriously, not all hokey jokey. Treat physics with the grace and dignity that it affords the universe.
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