The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard Feynman (Helix Books)

Richard P. Feynman

ISBN 10: 0738201081 / ISBN 13: 9780738201085

Published by Perseus Publishing Company October 1999, 1999

About this Item

Pages are very clean and bright with no markings. Stated first edition. Binding is tight and square. Trivial shelving wear.

Seller Inventory # 327786

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard Feynman (Helix Books)
• Publisher: Perseus Publishing Company October 1999
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738201081
• ISBN 13: 9780738201085
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Printing: First Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Modern First Editions

About this title

Synopsis

An unparalleled collection of the timeless writings of one of sciences most beloved and original thinkers.. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard Feynmanfrom interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in sciencea life like no other.From his ruminations on science in our culture and descriptions of the fantastic properties of quantum physics to his report on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will fascinate anyone interested in Feynman and anyone interested in the world of ideas. Newcomers to Feynman will be moved by his wit and deep understanding of the natural world, and of the human experience.

Review

The iconoclastic American physicist Richard Feynman won a Nobel Prize for solving a sub-atomic puzzle using home-brewed methods once dismissed as ludicrous. But Feynman arguably did science an even bigger service through his iconoclastic persona, which gave the lie to the view that all scientists are gauche, boring and obsessive. As first revealed in his brilliantly entertaining autobiography Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman!, Feynman was a wise-cracking genius with a penchant for topless bars, bongo-drums and winding people up. And he was obsessive--not about one narrow question, but about the whole puzzle of how Nature works, from the spin of an electron to the spin of wobbling dinner-plates. Since his untimely death from cancer in 1988, many books based on articles by or about Feynman have appeared. So what does The Pleasure of Finding Things Out add ? It's touted as a "greatest hits" volume--and it's a fair description. This well-chosen collection allows newcomers to see what all the fuss surrounding Feynman is about, from his work on quantum theory to his safe-cracking exploits during the Manhattan Project. But newcomers and long-standing Feynman fans alike will enjoy the newly-reprinted material, especially a 1979 magazine interview which includes fascinating insights into how a brilliant mind tackles Nature's mysteries. For once, a science book that lives up to its name, giving much pleasure from finding out more about this genuine scientific hero. --Robert Matthews