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 of academic obfuscation. I guess I still felt an undercurrent of arrogance along with a bit too much bragging. Maybe I just envy his achievements; I don't know.

In any case, the material is good and pretty consistently entertaining. The most valuable element for me was the window on mid-century academic life.