Rating: 
Summary: Not boring AT ALL!
Review: "What do you care what other people think" might not be as fast-paced and full of as many laugh-out-loud anecdotes as "Surely You're Joking", but it's just as entertaining, and even more thought-provoking. The first half of the book is much like Surely You're Joking. It's a series of funny and touching stories and recounted adventures. The second part of the book details Feynman's work investigating the Challenger explosion in 1986. Despite how it sounds (and the opinion of another reviewer), it's not boring at all. In fact, it's absolutely fascinating. It's not just a description of the investigation, it's like a detective story, complete with mystery and deception and finding clues and following leads and beating the system. It also serves to demonstrate both Feynman's brillance and his ability to make just the right kind of trouble. Feynman, having been dropped out of his science element and into the bureaucracy of Washington, shows his wonderful childlike way of encountering new situations. Instead of going by the book and doing what he's told like many of the other commissioners, Feynman goes on his own one-man mission to solve the case. On the way, he discovers a lot of cover-ups and curious mistakes, which, when we remember that they lead to the haunting Challenger explosion, are awfully creepy. I think the Challenger investigation stuff is the most inspirational of Feynman's memoirs so far. What he reveals during his investigation is shaking; not just the incidents themselves, but what they say about human nature. Even more shaking is the realization that most of us never stop to question the status quo, even when it smells fishy. While the rest of the commission was on guided tours of Kennedy, Feynman would sneak away, against the wishes of the people in charge, to interview the lowest assembly workers. It's an example of how we all should be; always doubting, always finding out answers for ourselves, and always curious. Oh, despite being inspirational and all that, it's extremely funny!
Rating:
Summary: Scientific background is not a prerequisite
Review: A lot of books written by scientific people claim to be "down-to-earth" and for the "layman" but end up creeping into the obscure. Not so here. Feynman starts with his feet planted firmly on the ground and never strays. The first few stories range from the serious to the light-hearted. From the pain of losing his wife to being invited to speak at a funeral for a man whom he can't remember. These accounts give you a good look at the ability of Feynman to convey a story and make it interesting. The majority of the book however is given to the time he spent on the committee that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Using no nonsense, straight-forward writing he takes you through the process of how he and the others, despite a lot of bureaucratic red tape, managed to find out what went wrong on that fateful day. What could very well be a dry and uninspiring subject becomes quite informative and engaging through his telling. This is my first book by Feynman, but having absorbed the whole thing in one sitting it surely won't be my last.
Rating:
Summary: Scientific background is not a prerequisite
Review: A lot of books written by scientific people claim to be "down-to-earth" and for the "layman" but end up creeping into the obscure. Not so here. Feynman starts with his feet planted firmly on the ground and never strays. The first few stories range from the serious to the light-hearted. From the pain of losing his wife to being invited to speak at a funeral for a man whom he can't remember. These accounts give you a good look at the ability of Feynman to convey a story and make it interesting. The majority of the book however is given to the time he spent on the committee that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Using no nonsense, straight-forward writing he takes you through the process of how he and the others, despite a lot of bureaucratic red tape, managed to find out what went wrong on that fateful day. What could very well be a dry and uninspiring subject becomes quite informative and engaging through his telling. This is my first book by Feynman, but having absorbed the whole thing in one sitting it surely won't be my last.
Rating: 
Summary: More Feynman
Review: A sort of sequel to "Surely You're Joking...," this book has fewer laughs but still kept me fascinated by the mind of Richard Feynman. "Surely You're Joking..." was filled with short humorous anecdotes, not necessarily related, coming together as a sketchy autobiography. "What Do You Care..." is a little different in form and has two main themes: Feynman's relationship with Arlene, his first wife, and his challenges with the Challenger space shuttle investigation. In this book, as opposed to "Surely You're Joking..." we get stories that we can follow for a longer time, and so there is a little more depth to them. Arlene's character is described more fully here, so we can understand their relationship better, and that was interesting. But I was more drawn to the Challenger story, which consists of his difficulties in finding information on the causes of the explosion while having to deal with bureaucracy and the unscientific minds of management. Sure, there must be tons of biases in here (he's a very opinionated guy), but Feynman's adventures are nonetheless filled with wonderful insights about life and science. And the last chapter, "The Value of Science" deals with things that many have forgotten or have never learned about science, doubt, and integrity.
Rating:
Summary: Fully worth it
Review: After wanting to read RF for a long time, I finally got a book. This was the first Feynman book I read. It has two parts, the first is mostly about Feynman's first wife Arlene and his friends when he was a young man. The second tells us how Feynman investigated the Challenger explosion. The book is not technical, the second part is a bit more detailed and might tell you more about rocket engines that you would like to know, but the whole book is very interesting. I particulary enjoyed the first part, how Feynman decided to still marry Arlene not matter what everyone else was telling him, and how special their relationship was. Feynman is a brillian man, yet funny and modest, he even shares some of his embarassing moments. I became a fan and am now going for more Feynman books. A first part for your heart, and a second part for your brain. Some were just random thoughts, with no order at all, and it was a bit confusing sometimes for someone who didn't know Feynman's life, but still, this was a delicious book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading about the people who make brilliant science... and still have a sense of humor. :)
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately, Au Courant
Review: Dr. Feynman figured out what went wrong with the 1986 space shuttle crash...he seemed to be the only one on the investigatory commission who was an innovative and agressive investigator. It will be interesting to see if inquiries into the latest disaster with the Columbia shuttle reveal the same weaknesses in NASA communication between the head (money-raising, grandstanding) honchos and the engineers who had hands- on knowledge of the shuttle. The technological aspect is obviously pertinent but the group dynamics of the commission and the organization they were scrutinizing is the real story.
In addition to the Challenger portion of the book, there are delightful chapters on the author's childhood relationship to his father and to his first wife, both of them original and irreverent characters, as, apparently, was Feynman.
Rating:
Summary: A quest for truth in the land of politics
Review: Dr. Feynman spent a lifetime looking for truth about physics and particularly subatomic particle physics. Then the Challenger disaster happens and he's called on to find the truth in NASA and in politics. He of course handles it superbly and we all know why it blew up. This is that story and its another good read for those who read and liked "Surely You must be joking." If you haven't read the first book, do it is slightly better and you could read them out of chronological order but you'll wish you hadn't.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for anyone even remotely interested in science
Review: Dr. Feynman, by allowing us to see some very personal moments during his amazing life gives the reader a personal connection to one of history's greatest men. From his work on the Manhattan Project to the Shuttle Challenger disaster, Feynman's wit and sense of humor (as well as his bold style) gave personality to complex scientific problems. This book is a definite must read for any Feynman fan as well as any physicist in need of some perspective. Feynman was the embodiment of Einstein's notion, that you can't understand physics unless you can explain it to a barmaid. Feynman could (and often did), and his style of writing brings his deep understanding of all things, complex or simple to light.
Rating:
Summary: More fun, more insight for Feymnanauts!
Review: Feynman's at it again in this sometimes-funny, sometimes-sad sequel to "Surely you're joking." Here, we meet his beloved first wife Arline, who died while Feynman was working on the bomb at Los Alamos. Later we follow Feynman to Washington, as he shines his piercing intellect through the NASA smokescreen surrounding the Challanger disaster. In between we're treated to Feynman's exasperated attempts to learn Japanese, and other adventures of this most curious character. While far from a balanced look at Feynman's life (James Gleick's "Genius" is the seminal work; it's sometimes hard to overlook author Ralph Leighton's unabashed hero worship), this book will be a delight to Feynmanauts.
Rating:
Summary: The ordinary genius: serious and romantic edition
Review: Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" is a lot of fun. But fun was not the only thing in Feynman's life. "What Do you Care What Other People Think" is a rather different book.
Don't get me wrong: there are various funny stories in this book, too. And the book also describes various controversies - for example the story in which the silly feminists called Feynman "a sexist pig". Feynman never hesitated to inform morons (especially the pompous fools) that they were morons, and this book is another proof of it. Nevertheless, the main focus of the book is different.
Feynman first talks about his childhood - especially his father who taught him to question the orthodox thinking, and who probably always wanted Richard to become a scientist. On the other hand, Feynman's father was not an intellectual. One of the special features of Feynman is that he was brought up in an ordinary family - not in a family of professors which is unfortunately the case of most professors today.
The second part of the book is very sad and very emotional. It's about his first wife, Arlene. I think that the book will show you how much they loved each other and how big influence Arlene had on Feynman. Well, a problem was that she suffered from tuberculosis. She was dying while Feynman was working on the atomic bomb in Los Alamos. This part of the book could compete with any good fiction - the difference is that this story is real and it happened to one of the most influential physicists of all time. I am sure that you will agree that Feynman's heart was at least as strong as his brain.
However, it's not just a sad love story: Feynman also describes their tricks that they used to send letters to each other (circumventing the censorship in Los Alamos) and other amusing details of this period.
The third portion (about 55%) of the book is dedicated to the commission that investigated the explosion of the Challenger, the space shuttle in 1986. Feynman was always eager to get to the very heart of the matter and he never cared whether he looked "nice" to others. Even Ronald Reagan knew about that, and therefore he personally asked Feynman to serve on the committee (with Neil Armstrong and others).
Feynman did not disappoint and the book reveals the findings in depth - well sometimes the description is too detailed, I would say. It shows how some people in NASA - for example an executive called William Rogers - preferred the image (their personal image as well as the image of NASA) over the truth. You will also learn about many technical details that have led to the explosion. Feynman was thinking differently - unlike the chairman of the commission who thought that everyone should sit in a room and ask the experts, Feynman decided to talk to the engineers. Feynman's analysis is also a critique of the government bureaucracy.
Although NASA was probably a unified force when it sent the first men to the Moon, it became fragmented afterwards, Feynman argues. The engineers estimated the probability of the failure to be about 1:300, while the top bosses were painting an optimistic picture to the Congress that the probability of an explosion was about 1:100,000, and NASA can be both cheap as well as efficient.
Feynman's most visible conclusion is that the space shuttle program may have been a mistake because the public had to be fooled that the project was better than it actually was.
Feynman always believed that the public must be allowed to decide whether they want to fund you and your projects, after you honestly tell them what the project means. Unlike many unrealistic people in the academia who believe that an arbitrary amount of money paid for an arbitrary project in science is a good investment - and that it is always OK to fool the ordinary people to get some money - Feynman understood economics and the workings of the society very well. Moreover, honesty was his primary goal in debates with the laymen.
At the end of the book, Feynman advocates science and its principles. However, you don't need to be trained in physics to understand the book.
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