This book shows why physics is so funny.
356752
This book is one of the most and the best reviewed in amazon. Feynman life has fancied hundred of people, included myself. Once I started with him I could`t stop with the rest of his books. This one is splendid. Read other reviews and you will ask amazon to deliver your copy.
4283860
Not only did my kids really enjoy this book, but it taught me about physics in a fun, interesting, clever manner.  We really enjoyed reading it as a family.  Very impressed with this 8th grade author.  We enjoyed his writing and his drawings.....he is an author to watch!
3201955
For a few months, this was my guilty-pleasure-read-a-few-pages-and-laugh-out-loud eBook I kept on my iPhone whenever I was waiting for someone that was late for a meeting.  (The perils of punctuality.)  At first I was going to rate the violence and sexual content as "None", but since he's covering questions like the consequences of trying to hit a baseball pitched at the speed of light, the ensuing violent shock wave is violence on an epic scale that expands your imagination.  I found everything in the book to be informative and usually hilarious.  Not since Douglas Adams have I found an author that bring concepts from the outer edges of mathematics+physics and readily mixes them with the mundane insanity of our every day lives.  If you enjoy Randall Munroe's XKCD comics and haven't read this book yet, you're in for a treat!
3167126
My daughters and I had so much fun reading this book. It's full of laughs, a few tender moments, science experiments, plans and diagrams, and a flying pig!

Fisher Bas is the 12 year old geeky scientific genius son of scientific geniuses. He's bullied by The Vikings (his nickname, not theirs) and tired of it! And, what would any scientific genius do? Create a clone to deal with school in his place, of course! (Wish I'd been a genius with an awesome laboratory in my house when I was in middle school...)

I think this book definitely hit the nail on the head with it's wittiness, but real subject of bullying. Though the main character is a boy, I think girls and boys alike will thoroughly enjoy this story.

With its strong descriptions, but not over the top explanations, everyone can enjoy the science-y aspects of the story without feeling bogged down. Fisher's amusing little doodles and lists throughout the book also add a dimension to the story that I rather enjoyed. You could see what Fisher was discussing rather than just read about it.

I have to admit one small flaw - the book seemed to take a bit to really get into, but once you get past the who's who and what's what and into the story, you'll be flying through it with giggles. (Honestly, it's not much at all. Just the beginning. But, it's all necessary.)

I think that this book should be on school bookshelves and available for all kids to read. It was *that* good.
595571
As an educator, I have always been disturbed that physics is usually left for last. It thus becomes "optional" when it is actually foundational. And it is FUN! This is a great book for anyone with adequate reading skills from age 11 to 111. This means that science curriculums must be revamped and physics made essential. Along with earlier algebra instruction that is also more enjoyable than in the past, accessible physics will encourage students and others to pursue more advanced work.
And this will help make the supposedly  "impossible" {wink}, possible. And Dr. Kaku knows this!
Five cheers. Uh, stars.
To the future.
3200693
I loved this book and I don't say this lightly about comedies about science.  This book did an excellent job of discussing the science while still making it funny.  I LOVED the sections where the weird questions only a true scientist (or serial killer) would ask.
3532104
This book is wonderful! It covers history, not in the way a history textbook might, but in the most entertaining way; by regaling the reader with hilarious stories of the people who lived it. The book engages the reader as they get a sense of living the history and adventuring with various scientists of the past.

This is a fantastic book if you like science, history, and/or amusing short stories.
4917585
Fun and interesting--new facts with illustrations every couple pages. It's an easy read for the curious person who doesn't have a background in physics.
2381795
This is the second book I read by this author.  This one is absolutely fantastic!!!!  He is a great writer with humor and style, unusual for a physicist!  I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.  I am telling all my friends about it.
4687285
I simply couldn't let Keith A. Nelson's review of May 12 go unchallenged. Did he read a completely different book to me? How can he possibly say of Dr Chown: "Quantum is a Word He Likes To Use - But Only in the Title". Six of Chown's ten chapters are on quantum theory! And how can he complain that Chown also covers relativity? In his foreword, Chown clearly states that his book is about the two great developments in physics in the past century - quantum theory and Einstein's theory. Chown has in fact written the best "primer" on modern physics for a generation. I bought the book on the strength of a review in "Nature". The journal's reviewer got it exactly right. He said: "An entertaining little gem that leads the reader through many of the wonders of twentieth century physics with a light and sometimes quirky touch. It is so full of little insights and neat analogies that I found myself folding over the top corners of countless pages containing quotable passages. What is remarkable is the number of new ways Chown has found to explain difficult and often abstract concepts. This is what good popular science writing is all about." I wholeheartedly agree. More please, Dr Chown!
2863816
Such a great book with LOTS of science behind it. And just enough humor to make it fun. Wonderful book that makes sense and makes it seem attainable for ALL!
3723235
I never went beyond first year university physics though I had a strong math background. I never had much interest in physics thinking that it was too theoretical. In this book, the author was able to decipher a complicated topic into simple concepts. The book first introduced the fundamentals of physics which are particles and forces. Throughout the book, these fundamentals kept being referred to which helped explain the different phenomenon in physics. This book makes me realize that physics is the basis of all inventions and it also explains the existence of our universe. After reading this book, I am motivated to want to learn more in the areas such as electromagnetic and quantum mechanics. The book is well-layout and written in easy-to-understand terms.
4110465
I have been so pleased with this book!  It started out rather slowly with some very basic concepts (read boring to those of us with any math skills), but quickly evolved into the most lucid and entertaining description of our universe (and the ultra-bright humans living within it) that I have ever read.  It's physics, its personal, it's engaging and clear.
And Susskind seems like the kind of person you would love to invite to dinner - a serious thinker who is endlessly amusing.  He knew Feynmann (whose large red text books I still treasure from college days) - he spars with Hawking.  Well, he just tells a good story - you won't be disappointed.
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?
3780762
So fun and funny.  I have never been so interested in science.
486960
I enjoyed this book immensely.  Now I wish I had studied physics!
2062851
No, this book is not a series of essays by physicist and author Richard Feynman. No, it's not the cliff notes version of Physics 401. Believe it or not, this is a wildly funny yet disconcerting coming of age novel about one very intelligent teenager (Blue van Meer) with one very intelligent but restless father (Gareth van Meer). Dad is an intellectual's intellectual, constantly writing articles on foreign affairs, reading obscure tomes on every subject and endlessly giving Blue the benefit of his great wisdom. There's no mother on the scene: she was killed in a car accident when Blue was five, and Blue and Dad have moved from one visiting professorship to another all over the US, never staying more than a semester in one place.

Until, that is, they arrive in Stockton, North Carolina for Blue's senior year in high school. Dad vows to stay there the entire year and Blue's coming of age really begins. She becomes involved with the mysterious Hannah Schneider, a part-time high school teacher, and her collection of protgs, five high-school seniors in Blue's class (none of whom take the slightest interest in Blue).Why Hannah has befriended Blue remains unclear, and there are persistent rumors that she has a mysterious, perhaps even a shady past. Eventually a man dies at a party at Hannah's house under very odd circumstances and Blue even imagines she sees Dad at the same party. The coincidences pile up and Blue learns some very strange truths as she emerges into adulthood and heads toward her first year at Harvard.

Marisha Pessl tells a whale of a story, building literary allusions and suspense in a wobbly tandem as Blue and the reader try together to figure out what's going on. It's also a very funny book with Dad's Bourbon Moods and June Bug girlfriends and Blue's many obscure academic citations. It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel: the writing is adroit and polished, the characters are lively and interesting and the story builds, builds, builds...by the last 50 pages or so, I simply could not put it down. I'll be waiting eagerly for Pessl's next book.