Rating: 
Summary: Drags
Review: I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but after a while it just drags. Could have been a nice story in the New Yorker, but as a book it just doesn't cut it. Forced my way to the end.Summary: Couple of guys want to get to this obscure place cause they like the name. Jump through lots of hoops trying to get permission. One of them dies. Permission comes. That's all folks.
Rating: 
Summary: I want to see Tuva!
Review: I first became aquainted with Richard Feynman during my Master's program. During that time a professor of mine showed us a delightful NOVA documentary on Feynman. There was a great interview with Ralph Leighton, Feynman's friend, and Feynman himself who became rather obessed with getting to Tuva. Tuva was once a small independent country at the turn of the 20th century(and before) but later was taken over by the Soviet Union. I love this book because it gives you a wonderful view of the genius of Feynman as well as his human side that other more academic books tend to leave out or dismiss. As a side note, recently on a trip to Europe, I met a man who I swear WAS Richard Feynman, I even called out, "Dr. Feynman" and the man turned. He pretended to speak no English and walked away from me. Could Feynman still be alive and living well in Switzerland?
Rating:
Summary: Not the best one about Feynman, but "Disappointing"? NO!
Review: I have to strongly disagree with the person below who found the book dissapointing. Sure: it's not exclusively centered in Feynman, but more around his struggle to make it to this faraway, almost concealed land of Tuva, between Russia and Mongolia. It's about a man's dream and struggle to make it come true. All the books you'll find touching Feynman in one way or another come down to one thing: the meaning of life, what it is to live and fight through life, while having fun at the same time. I DO recommend this book: it is filled with adventure and shows a lot of Feynman's innate curiosity (in an almost childish way, which is good!) and perseverance (an incredible trait which most of us have a lot to learn from). If you want to learn more about Feynman's character and uncover the most unexpected anecdotes surrounding this Nobel Prize winner, check out these two other:
-'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!' : Adventures of a Curious Character, and
-What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character. Enjoy the trip!
Rating:
Summary: Fun read
Review: I just had a few miscellaneous comments on this book. Although this book isn't so much about Feynman's last trip as about the trials and tribulations he and his longtime friend Leighton experienced trying to get there, this was still an enjoyable book. Feynman himself passed away from cancer shortly before they got permission to actually travel to Tuva, a remote region of Mongolia near the Altai mountains, a 10,000-foot-high mountain range that separates eastern Mongolia from western China. But because of his illness, Feynman himself isn't so much the protagonist in this story so much as the inspiration, as Leighton discusses the research and preparations that led up to the final journey. But there is still enough of the inimitable Feynman, the "curious character" as he calls himself, in the narrative for it to be enjoyable to long-time Feynman fans. The pictures of Feynman in an elaborate Tahitian headress playing the drums at a concert and dressed up like a Tibetan lama with hat and prayer wheel are truly comical and show the great physicist certainly had a sense of humour about himself too--even as he was dying from cancer. I came to the book partly because I already knew something about Tuvan throat singing and had read a little bit about Ural-Altaic linguistics, and so knew something about the Mongolian languages, and a little about the life-style of the herders in the area. It turns out the Altaic language group has had some capable linguists studying the family over the last 30 years, and a lot more is known now than in the past. I've found at least one site with much good information on Mongolian and Altaic languages on the web in the last year. But all that was by way of saying, stangely enough, that I actually knew something about this remote and obscure area of the world before reading this book, and so was interested to see what sort of adventures Feynman and his friend might have there. Although Feynman himself never made it there, I learned much about the country I hadn't known before, and having Feynman's unique and funny perspective on it made it all the more enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: The most amazing man.
Review: I never read the book, but saw the NOVA show years ago. I have been searching for this video for so long. Does anyone know how I can get it? Please email achap@bdol.com thank you
Rating:
Summary: HELP ME FIND THIS BOOK! ! !
Review: I too have never read the book but heard the author intervied on National Public Radio and was fasinated. I am EXTREMELY interested in finding this book be it new or USED. Please contact me if you can help me! Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Scientific Adventure!
Review: If you are interested in science and the irreveant journies that a life time of curiosity can take you on, then this is a book for you! Follow the author and Richard Feynman on their improbable and convoluted journey to go to the former country of Tannu Tuva. Their surpreme reason for going there? Because the capital is spelled K-Y-Z-Y-L!!! The book is well written with funny stories of the over 10 year search to find information on Tuva and a way do get to this part of the USSR during the height of the Cold War. A good easy read with some pictures of the events. The original version came with a disk of the throat singing from Tuva talked about in the book. I have not read the 2000 edition, but from looking at this version it seems they only changed the new version by adding the section with comments from 2000. The end is a little disappointing and anti-climatic, but overall it is truly worth the read for the inspiration of following your dreams no matter how crazy they maybe!!!
Rating:
Summary: Scientific Adventure!
Review: If you are interested in science and the irreveant journies that a life time of curiosity can take you on, then this is a book for you! Follow the author and Richard Feynman on their improbable and convoluted journey to go to the former country of Tannu Tuva. Their surpreme reason for going there? Because the capital is spelled K-Y-Z-Y-L!!! The book is well written with funny stories of the over 10 year search to find information on Tuva and a way do get to this part of the USSR during the height of the Cold War. A good easy read with some pictures of the events. The original version came with a disk of the throat singing from Tuva talked about in the book. I have not read the 2000 edition, but from looking at this version it seems they only changed the new version by adding the section with comments from 2000. The end is a little disappointing and anti-climatic, but overall it is truly worth the read for the inspiration of following your dreams no matter how crazy they maybe!!!
Rating:
Summary: Feynman's inspiration...
Review: If you're reading this review, you've probably read dozens of witicisms from Richard Feynman, one of science's most colorful characters. Though the name suggests otherwise, this is really about a Feynman inspired journey. Ralph Leighton and Richard Feynman spot a stamp from Tuva, which inspires Leighton's journey around the world. What makes the book an interesting read is that you can easily follow Feyman's curious energy in the actions and writing of the author. This really brings the heart of the book's value - this type of intellectual curiosity is not just the property of Richard Feynman. Anyone can chase a journey because it's fun or because it's there. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and hope that you do too.
Rating:
Summary: Feynman's inspiration...
Review: If you're reading this review, you've probably read dozens of witicisms from Richard Feynman, one of science's most colorful characters. Though the name suggests otherwise, this is really about a Feynman inspired journey. Ralph Leighton and Richard Feynman spot a stamp from Tuva, which inspires Leighton's journey around the world. What makes the book an interesting read is that you can easily follow Feyman's curious energy in the actions and writing of the author. This really brings the heart of the book's value - this type of intellectual curiosity is not just the property of Richard Feynman. Anyone can chase a journey because it's fun or because it's there. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and hope that you do too.
| 
