Feynman - Genius. The same thing.
354491
One could easily retitle this book "The Pleasure of Finding Feynman."

Feynman deserved to be on the national bestseller list with this one. If anyone ever asks me to define a genius, I can do that in one word...Feynman. It has been a real joy for me to have found him and then to read his writings, view his lectures which are mostly collected at YouTube online and not necessarily easy going, and to read/hear what his contemoraries recall about his role in their lives.

Knowing a genius isn't something that most of us will encounter in our lives. We may know some very smart people who are much smarter than ourselves. But a genius is so much smarter than those smart people and the rest of us that it makes me wish that I could live in the genius world that he inhabits. A genius is to a normal and even above normal mind as a cat is to a mouse...so much faster than lightening that the mouse can't even begin to imagine it...and is doomed to be lunch. I wish my mind could do what his mind does...even for a short time ("Flowers for Algernon" anyone?). The next best thing then is to get to know him, and since he is dead the only way to do that is to try to get to know him through what he writes, what he says, his lectures, his humor, his philosophy and his astonishing comtributions to Physics and many other fields.

If I ever had the opportunity to sit down with him for a beer and have a conversation, I really wouldn't say very much at all. What I would do, is to listen as he pulls seemingly unrelated threads and things together to clearly illustrate his point in a way that even a layman can understand; and then I would hope that he had nowhere to go so that he could hang around and do that all over again with subject after subject until my ears were tired. Listening to his voice and seeing him deliver is just amazing.

If you want a taste of Feynman and a glimpse into the mind of a genius, buy and read this book and travel a bit with him. You definitely do not have to be a physicist to take away your own sense of wonder, respect, and just plain joy at meeting Richard Feynman on the printed pages of this book.
4668923
Cleick brought out Feynman's wonderfully spirited intellect and his unorthodox personality documenting a most exciting era of quantum physics. Very interesting to read, from beginning to end.
2167558
Had always heard that Gamow was quite the character. Like Feynman, his ability to distill intimidating concepts down to down to earth (npi) analogies is admirable.  Recommend this one (originally written in the early 1960's) to anyone wishing to better understand physics, from Ptolemy through Einstein.
3953117
This new volume, very well written by one of the best popular authors on physics, fills a gap in the Feynman bookshelf.  At one end is the best biography of Feynman,  "Genius" by James Gleick, which includes much personal history.  At the other, "QED", by Sylvan Schweber, which covers the entire sweep of the work by Feynman, Dyson, Schwinger, Tomonaga and others on quantum electrodynamics, the centerpiece of Feynman's legacy.

Krauss writes a mainly scientific biography, and manages to cover this work without mathematical detail, but with well-chosen technical illustrations, which give the flavor of the work. Gleick provides much more on the personal life, and if you have the background, Schweber will fill in the details of QED.  (If you want more background on Feynman diagrams, beyond the very good introduction in this book, I recommend "Drawing Theories Apart" by David Kaiser.)

Of course one must also read Feynman's own popular writings, both his own and those co-authored, and at the undergraduate level I wish I had his "Lectures on Physics" when I was a student in the early 1950's.

The new Krauss book definitely deserves 5 stars.
1601745
This book is yet another posthumous compilation of Feynman's musings.  With each successive book - starting from the wonderful transcriptions of Leighton, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman - they have been declining in quality for years.  Well, this is a hodgepodge of paper scraps and even raw oral interviews that have been thrown together to exploit just about the last drop of these kinds of things, and I can say that I don't think the process should continue.

There are some amusing things in this book and some interesting details, but there really isn't anything special except for the fact that Feynman enjoys the personality cult associated with a zany physics genius.  He was an original character and, in physics, a truly great thinker.  But that doesn't make every last little thing that he ever said or scribbled down interesting, except to uncritical devotees who live with the fantasy that everything he said was better than worthwhile.  Indeed, if you know about something in great depth he writes (well talks) about, his views appear as superficial as the rest of non-specialists on the subjects.  Where he is truly interesting in on physics, mathematics, and science - and the overwhelming majority of what he produced on those subjects is already available.

I would not recommend this book, except as a source of Feynman trivia if that is your bag.  Indeed, I had heard most of these things before - either in films about the man or from his earlier writings.  As such, that makes this book the crassest attempt to commercially exploit the legacy of this great man yet again.  If such a thing were possible, the editor should be ashamed.
2310315
If you have read William's Dunham's " Journey through Genius ", "Euler,The Master of Us All", there is no need to add anymore praise to this book,just buy it and enjoy it!!!
1643277
I cannot adequately describe my love for this book, and subsequently, the man about whom this book is written.
Years ago, I worked as a sanitation man in New York. As you can imagine, I usually found something interesting to take home here and there that was perfectly good or at least in repairable condition. But better than anything,  having always been a voracious reader, I loved coming across a good book.
 So one day, I'm tossing out a mix of assorted old junk; old shoes, purses, Life magazines, and I notice this odd little book with this strange title. "Feynman? Hmmm... never heard of the guy!" I quickly read the blurbs and a portion of the jacket and decided I'd throw it in the cab to peruse on the train back to Long Island where I lived.
 Guys, I could not put this book down! I hated to see it end as I got to the last few pages before falling asleep. What a great man! How funny! But the thing that really impressed me about Richard Feynman was that this guy totally bit life in the #!$@! Whatever interested him, he persued with vigor and a spirit that seemed almost unquenchable. He loved life and he also lived it. But more than that, reading this book changed my life, and I wish he hadn't died so young so I could let him know what an inspiration he was to me.
 Read This book and then pass it on to someone else who you think might appreciate it. I just know you are going to have a blast!
1770871
Pauling was arguably the greatest chemist of the 20th century. His enthusiasm, intuition, and technical chops are all on display throughout this text. I find I can read this for pleasure, which is rare for a textbook.  I wore out the binding of my first copy.  Feynmann might be a comp. Chemistry as a subject has doubtless advanced since 1970, but I don't think there is much in this book that needs correcting.
378623
Interesting! But the one thing Bloom should discuss if he were to successfully complete his analogies would be the phenomenal binding problem. Only philosophers such as David Pearce can be taken seriously when they discuss intelligence on a grand scale and they way systems ultimately compose minds. How do we distinguish between an apparently intelligence insentient system such as bacteria and the stock market from, say, conscious minds like ours if not by referencing the unitary nature of consciousness?
904176
My reading of "Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman" was surely "forced" me to read the life of Richard Feynman furthermore: NO ORDINARY GENIUS is a GREAT BOOK. Family, friends and colleagues of Feynman share their views regarding the genius (with bump's-language-style) Feynman. The photos are great and can make a good spot on his life. Truly inspiring especially when he stated that he's an irresponsible man! And also, he couldn't stop to do physics until several days before his death: he's still doing the physics in 70. Feynman also brought the tiny-state named TOUVA to the world: even a geographic teacher wouldn't know bout this region! Buy this book, okay?
3612609
An excellent description of a remarkable man. The story is easy to absorb and there is enough detail to really catch the reader.
Hope you become more like Mr Feynman after reading this book!
4638352
As a college physics teacher, and like many other reviewers, I too found the content of this abridged version of Feynman's famous lectures not worth the price of the book, but as I listened to the tapes (and by the way, several are extremely poor quality), it occured to me that the brilliance that comes through is Feynman the Educator, not the Nobel Laureate, or physicist, or college professor......and from this standpoint this set is well worth both the cost and time to anyone who fancies themself as a teacher.  I have degrees in education and get great reviews from my students on a regular basis, but that didn't stop me from learning a lot from Feynman about how to expand a student's perception, application, and analysis skills and for this addition to my own personal bag of skills, I thank him.
3632635
I now appreciate the joke about the physicist giving a solution to a chicken farmer on how to get greater return from his stock. Unfortunately the solution only is valid for spherical chickens in a vacuum. (Big bang Theory- Dr Leonard Hoffstader)
539668
<div id="video-block-R15Y6CTQQ1KD1G" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/G17UMlKXTOS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71cfOiyG%2BGS.png" class="video-slate-img-url">&nbsp;Richard Feynman was a science and mathematics prodigy and one of the great physicists of the 20th century. He worked on the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan project and as a professor at Caltech and Cornell. He was true polymath that had a bit of an antiestablishmentarian streak and a was contrarian thinker.
3084696
Do yourself a favor and watch a youtube clip of RF giving a speech.  Listen for at least 5 minutes.  It won't take much to absorb his rather unique style of speaking into your consciousness and this will greatly enhance this first person account of his life experiences. Besides making a significant contribution to the Manhattan Project at Los Alomos, and receiving a Nobel Prize, Feynman (pronounced fine-men) constantly developed many varied interests and pursued them passionately.  If asked to give a one word description of the guy, I guess I would use that word - passionate.  There are many interesting passages in the book, and one of the things I really admired about him was his broad view of education, particularly during his graduate studies.  While at Princeton, he met a number of students and professors in departments other than his physics major, and sat in on many of their courses just because he found the subject interesting.  And because he was a brilliant guy, he caught on quickly to basic issues and often made his unique contributions in those fields as well.  And it was interesting times - he was a student in the 30's, at Los Alamos during WWll and taught for years afterwards (and played the drums, and marched at Rio's Carnival, etc.) He mentions his wives briefly but says next to nothing about his kids.  And he had a fondness for women and met a number at clubs and bars.  Not my expectations of a physicist, but an incredibly interesting guy.  What he was not, was a great writer.  When he described problems and solutions, he raced over the details much like his mind thought.  It was impossible to get a clear grasp of what he was trying to communicate in many of these passages.  But then he always preferred speaking to audiences with a depth of knowledge in the field and was frustrated with those that couldn't keep pace.  A great guy but I wouldn't want him for a professor in one of my EE classes.  Four stars is probably a generous rating, but if you only get through a portion of this book you will be glad that you got to experience and know a little bit about Feynman.
3843711
Feynman QED lectures show how physics concepts need to be introducing to any people who are scared about science. Feynman was a great scientist and a better pedagogue. It is simple to read and simpler to understand. We need more Feynman's at schools.
Next book that I am going to read Feynman's Physics Lectures.
3772893
What IF everyone could be a genius? What if genius is not something you are born with? What if genius does not reside in your DNA and only a privileged few have access to it? Would you want to live YOURS?

Genius is something we each can tap into at any point in our lives. It is a field of energy around us all the time. Take a moment to watch and ponder the Magic of Nature for example. How tiny seeds transform themselves into giant cedar trees, or pumpkin vines, flowers, carrots or peanuts growing in the ground! How does nature work together so magically, every tiny microscopic part working in harmony with all the rest? Animals and nature living and growing in harmony.

How do the seasons come and go and things grow endlessly when left alone in the forest, the jungle, or deep in the  arctic worlds filled with frozen water hundreds of feet thick? Supposedly humans are even more evolved than the magic and wonder we have yet to figure out! We only use a tiny bit of our brains I am told and there is so much more to explore!

Take a trip inside yourself. Ask new questions. Look at everything in life from a more infinite perspective. There are always hundreds of ways of looking at the same situation or question.

We have all read or seen examples of people tapping into their genius whether it is listening to Mozart, reading about DaVince or Einstein, gazing at the Mona Lisa. We have seen people tune "into their zone" during athletic events and break records others thought were impossible. What if we each were capable of similar feats?

This book offers you any clues to finding your own personal streak of genius. It guides you into finding new ways to experience your life and perhaps you will emerge a different person for having taken this adventure.

Genius is defined as: an exceptional intellectual or creative power or other "natural ability".  Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of us could tap into this creative field and more often live from our own "natural zone of genius" more of the time! This book certainly  provided me with many tools to begin to do so! I loved this book!