Rating: 
Summary: Atleast vol3 is a book which would be your pride possession
Review: Atleast, I personally liked only the third volume of Feynman's famous lectures. The first two volumes are a bit too introductory despite being too voluminous. Probably, I liked third volume because I was a new comer for Quantum Physics at that time. And definately I would like to strongly recommend third vol as the standard text book for a beginner. It is one of very few books which I feel proud to possess .....and obviously to have studied !! This book will make you feel that Quantum Physics is as BELIEVABLE as Newton's Classical physics. I would like to humbly comment, in general, about the Feynman's books. I feel there are two faces of science which attracts and fascinates bergeoning minds. First is that its ability to pridict ...... even after senselessly lenghthy looking mathematics one finds that still nature behaves the way science predicts. Second is the ELEGANCE that science, as distinct from other subjects, has. How beautifully science maintains the consistency ...... how beautifully it has been formulated ..... how severe are small assumptions ...... and how carefully each small assumption is mentioned in the formulations ...!!! This second phase is where Feynman lacks. Feynman's books failed to impress the new minds with the BRILIANT mathematical ELEGANCE of science !!! He fails to bring out the GRACE of CONSISTENCY !! The lengthy circular line integrals and surface integrals of electrodynamics, the elegant linear algebra quantum theory, the variations in Hamiltonian formultaions .......all these have an intrinsic beauty which Feynman fails to bring forth to new entrants into the field of science. There is a satge in one's educational growth till which one likes to understand how the nature behaves ....how science enables one to predict nature .....I mean things of general curiosity. But finally a stage comes when you want to study science with all its ELEGANCE. There is a stage when you want to admire the beautifull science ..... elegantly decorated and precisely dressed with mind boggling mathematics. Hence, all new comers should definately read vol3 of Feynman's Lecture .....but togather with that they should also read some formal treatment of science like those by Landau or Dirac to admire the science with its true colors. Best of Luck, Mukul Agrawal
Rating: 
Summary: Great books
Review: Unlike my fellow reviewer above (below?) I *have* a PhD in physics, yet these books taught me more basic physics than I ever learnt in 4 years of undergrad. The quantum mechanics book is especially clear...I honestly wish my first 1st year phyics lecturer had of simply said 'read Feymnam'..I would have learnt so much more than I ever did in lectures/other texts. Give these books to a child starting science/maths and let them grow up using it and learning from it...there could be no better gift.
Rating:
Summary: Physics gusto
Review: There is an anectode that Einstein, commenting on Frederick Engels's (cofounder of communism, along with Karl Marx) "Dialectics of Nature", humorously observed: " This is the way a physicist *should not* think". Well- Feynman's legendary lectures ooze the impression: this is the way a physicist *should* think. Great merits of the trilogy are: -intriguing approach, more "physically" than "mathematically" oriented -accessibility to the persevering layman (one can learn chunks of physics in spare time) -all the general physics, from mechanics and thermodynamics to electromagnetism and quantum theory, set in a step-by-step manner, amply illustrated by analogies & avoiding mathematical rigor. Why the sky is blue ? Why our bodies don't collapse into points ? Why the time "flows" in one direction only ? It's in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: should replace all high school text book
Review: it will be an excellent high school text book expecially for those wh oare preparing for the Ap physics C or those who loves physics and are willing to place themselves in advance standards. i would recommand that book for all high school seniors and first year college students who major or intend to major in science or engineering since most of today's "lectures" are generally mediocre. P.S. u have to reread each chapter for at least 2 times even though u think u understand it
Rating:
Summary: Memory of a Lifetime
Review: When I took my sophomore-level physics class in college in the mid-60's, my professor put these Feynman books on reserve in the library. Eventually, looking for anything that could help me with a difficult course, I went into the library to see what Mr. Feynman (of whom I had never heard) had to say. I was spellbound. It was unimaginable to me that a subject so full of technical detail, formulas and equations, could be brought to life so brilliantly and vividly. I soon changed my major to math, and I never heard or thought of Richard Feynman again until the Challenger disaster about 20 years later. When President Reagan appointed Feynman to the investigating panel, I said, "Hey! That's the guy who wrote those wonderful Physics books!" Since then I have learned a lot more about Richard Feynman, and I guess I could say that if I have a hero, he's it. I have also gone back to look at these incomparable physics books again, and they are at least as magnificent as I thought they were in 1966. After decades of reading math and science books, I still believe this set of three books is head and shoulders above ANY textbook that I have seen in ANY subject. (Although, as others have said, it isn't really a textbook. On the other hand, after reading these books, you are likely to ask, "Who the hell needs a texbook?") Feynman manages to cover the technical and mechanical details of his subject while at the same time conveying a deep and philosophical understanding of the way the physical world works. He shines a dazzling and penetrating floodlight on a subject which is murky to all but the most talented among us. No praise is too high or too exaggerated for this work. It is one of the great achievements in the history of scientific writing.
Rating:
Summary: Intuitive Explanations of Physics
Review: As a professor in a quantitative field (Computer Science) I recognize a true master teacher at work. Feynman's ability to convey the intuitive essentials of physics is unique. The other reviewers are absolutely correct, however, about the level of sophistication. These are books for people who are already into physics, and want a deeper conceptual grasp of the field. BTW, there *are* excellent problem sets to go with Feynman's lectures, and they're almost as good as the lectures themselves, having been assembled by Feynman's friend, coauthor and colleague Robert Leighton. (...)
Rating:
Summary: This book will keep the light bulb turning on
Review: Feynman has a way of taking a subject you thought you knew, shaking your perspective and illuminating the topic from an angle you never even considered. I am within a year of picking up my Ph.D. and I found parts of this book required several rereads, but not because they are technically difficult (which some of it is), but because conceptually it is different than anything I've ever seen before. Feynman wasn't just smarter than most individuals, he didn't even think in the same fashion. The thought experiments are phenomenal (the rachet and pawl for the second law of thermo is my favorite) and the material is dense and complete. It is hard to believe that this material was delivered in an hour lecture, there seems to just be too much to grasp that quickly. The only thing that would make it better would be some problems and solutions. Other than that, it is FLAWLESS. Even the binding and appearance of this book is like art.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to its reputation
Review: This is probably the most extravagantly praised book in the last 40 years of science writing. It is of course excellent, but I found that for every single topic there were better more specialized books out there. Thermo? Fermi's book is better. Special Relativity? L C Epstein is better, as is French, or the old old Taylor book. Electrodynamics? Lots of good books in Dover. His volume on quantum theory is special, but it is also hard, because he takes a Hamiltonian approach without giving you the math, or doing classical mechanics in variational form. Still, Feynman has some very interesting mind-expanding things to say.
Rating:
Summary: Wish my physics teachers have read it !
Review: Richard Feynman is recognized as the best physics teacher ever. I firmly endorse it. The way he explains even the most obscure ideas of physics, in a clever way, is astonishing. It makes you think "why haven't I thought about it in this way before". I wish my physics teachers have read it. It would have made this discipline more "tasty" and pleasant to study. This is a serious question: if physics could be presented in a more enjoyable way, maybe we could have many more physics students and physicians. If you're a physics teacher, do this favour for your students: read this book!
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful introduction to physics
Review: I love these books. I read them when I was a graduate student in mathematics as part of my transition from pure to applied mathematics. I had no background in physics at all, and these books were a very good way to get introduced to the subject. Feynman is one of those people that sees things in a way that is almost magical to everyone else, and he was a masterful teacher. That said, these are real physics books, so don't bother if you are looking for a superficial understanding. If you already know physics you can probably breeze through the books pretty easily getting a lot of nice insights, but otherwise you need to be prepared to work hard. Also, as a self-teaching tool, these books are incomplete, since they contain no problems, and actually don't prepare you very well to do problems (unless, perhaps, you are as smart as Feynman). For that you probably need a more conventional physics text. I used Jannerstan's book "Mathematical Physics", which I recommend if you can find it because it has lots of problems with complete solutions in the back of the book, but there are many other good, more pedestrian, physics texts to supplement FLP. If what you want is something lighter, I highly recommend "The Character of Physical Law". You'll learn something and it won't hurt so much. (I also recommend that you see the movies if you possibly can. He was amazing in front of an audience.)
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