Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

Adventures of a Curious Character

by Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton

350 pages

English language

Published April 8, 1997 by W. W. Norton & Company.

ISBN:: 978-0-393-31604-9

View on OpenLibrary

(144 reviews)

2 editions

Sergey Machulskis reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

If you like listen to long stories of your friends, give it a try.

I expected something different.

First of all, it shouldn't be a book. The writing is terrible. It could not be fixed by editing because almost an entire book is based on recorded audio conversations of Feynman and his friend.

I was agonizing for the first 100 pages or so. It was too narcissistic. Maybe it's okay, he was a kid and teenager at this time.

I expected more out of the Manhattan project part of the book. The project was huge and really interesting but he tells about lockpicking and girls in his dormitory. Seriously? His wife died of tuberculosis and it was mentioned only briefly. Search on the web for his letter to his dead wife, it's beautiful and touching (the book doesn't mention it).

The rest wasn't very interesting. Want to know about his …

Deuce reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

One of my favourite autobiographies. I didn't see it coming

James Cridland's reading reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was a very strange book - I'd never heard of Feynman and essentially only started reading it because it had good reviews. It's an enjoyable set of dinner-party stories; it sometimes crosses the line into obsession and, frankly, autism; but that's probably why this chap was so successful. I found myself enjoying the little stories, found much in common with his view on life, particularly his healthy disregard for un-earnt respect, and his wish to discover "the system" of how something should be done. An enjoyable read.

Kirk Moodey reviewed "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard P. Feynman

Review of '"Surely You\'re Joking, Mr. Feynman!"' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A fun romp through life anecdotes of a scientist. Other people have mentioned this before, but Feynman's attitude towards women renders reading this a little less pleasant than it would otherwise be. When I was younger and more naive reading some of his encounters in his perspective I didn't take them with enough salt, because I idolized scientists too much for it to really occur to me they might be as sexist as often as the rest of the population: a good scientist, after all, tries to keep in mind both a hypothesis and a counter-hypothesis, the weight of evidence and ways to falsify their current paradigm, so if they apply that to life they would be cautious before making blunt statements about women and men.
Alas, I have come to learn that people are good at compartmentalization, and that scientists often only really successfully practice the scientific method in groups rather than as individuals because they tend to be biased toward their own pet theories too much. It's like bees: every worker bee wants to lay their own eggs, but the collective action of the hive ends up ensuring that this does not in practice happen because other worker bees won't agree to raise just any egg and will nip them in the bud unless it meets the standards of the entire collective.

Nathan Friedly reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A lot of fun stories from the life of a brilliant man.

codito reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book is a nice collection of adventures of a Nobel laureate. The passion of author, his love for physics and an attitude to discover rings for himself will inspire everyone!

Jamie reviewed "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard P. Feynman

Review of '"Surely You\'re Joking, Mr. Feynman!"' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A little Feynman goes a long way - passes the 'Curious Character' mark about halfway through.

Richard reviewed "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard P. Feynman

Review of '"Surely You\'re Joking, Mr. Feynman!"' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Excellent insight into the mind of Richard Feynman. Incredibly entertaining and a pleasure to read.

Paul J reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I think what I enjoyed most was the very different way of thinking about his experiences and how he approached them. In some respects his attitude was anachronistic and old fashioned (well, he lived through the early 1900s) and, at the same time, refreshing. The book is mostly a series of experiences interlaced with little life lessons.

flashy_dragon reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A fascinating glimpse into the life of Mr Feynman. Perhaps you aren't as dumb as you think? Feynman's biography will provide insight into one mind considered great, and show you that even those we consider incredibly bright face many of the same problems the rest of us face.

Balise reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'm pretty sure I had read that one years ago (as in 10+ years ago), but I didn't have much recollection of it. It's essentially a series of anecdotes recounted by Richard Feynman, physics Nobel prize - from fixing radios to cracking safes open via working at Los Alamos... Very funny, reasonably "uh."-inducing, and made me want to dig some more into physics when I have time (let's say I'm not the most physics-inclined person on Earth, and that's a huge understatement ;) ). Highly recommanded to anyone who's not allergic to science, stupid pranks and a healthy dose of self-satisfaction.

nicknicknicknick reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on Goodreads

4 stars

1) ''I had also invented a set of symbols for the typewriter, like FORTRAN has to do, so I could type equations. I also fixed typewriters, with paper clips and rubber bands (the rubber bands didn't break down like they do here in Los Angeles), but I wasn't a professional repairman; I'd just fix them so they would work. But the whole problem of discovering what was the matter, and figuring out what you have to do to fix it---that was interesting to me, like a puzzle.''

2) ''I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding; they learn by some other way---by rote, or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!''

3) ''Arlene had kept this clock by her bedside all the time she was sick, and now it stopped the moment she died. I can understand how a person who half believes in the possibility of such things, and who hasn't got a doubting mind---especially in a circumstance like that---doesn't immediately try to figure out what happened, but instead explains that no one touched the clock, and there was no possibility of explanation by normal phenomena. The clock simply stopped. It would become a dramatic example of these fantastic phenomena.
I saw that the light in the room was low, and then I remembered that the nurse had picked up the clock and turned it toward the light to see the face better. That could easily have stopped it.
I went for a walk outside. Maybe I was fooling myself, but I was surprised how I didn't feel what I thought people would expect to feel under the circumstances. I wasn't delighted, but I didn't feel terribly upset, perhaps because I had known for seven years that something like this was going to happen.
I didn't know how I was going to face all my friends up at Los Alamos. I didn't want people with long faces talking to me about it. When I got back (yet another tire went flat on the way), they asked me what happened.
'She's dead. And how's the project going?'''

AliCorbin reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Several people thought that the writing was weak. Until you realized that he hadn't actually written it, but merely told some stories to a friend who then wrote them down verbatim. Feynman himself was thought to be childish and arrogant. But also intelligent, creative and courageous.

Chris Mayes reviewed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

Review of "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character)" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Richard Feynman is definitely an admirable fellow. He's extremely intelligent and has an enviable work ethic. Some of the stories in this book are fascinating illuminations on times and places I know little about. His voice in prose is not very appealing to me, however.

I'm not sure what it is that bothers me about the way he talks or writes (I gather from the preface that these stories are essentially dicatations). Heather felt he was caddish, and it's clear that he had a fascination with women. For me, though, these elements of the stories are not that remarkable giving the age he was living through. Guys just seemed to act that way during the middle of the century. Maybe I felt like his casual tone was a bit forced.

He's obviously brilliant, but he also sees himself as a straight shooter that likes to cut through the usual tangle …