Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman

This book complements the other biographical and (semiauto)biographical works on Richard Feynman. In many ways we see him more intimately than ever before. I once read a book describing the Roman Catholic Church as a struggle between saints and cardinals. (I would love to refind this book.) The cardinals were the guardians of orthodoxy, the saints broke new ground. The cardinals often burned the saints for heresy, then the saint's ideas became accepted and the next generation of cardinals beatified the ex-heretic (while burning the next future saint). Saint Joan is the best-known example of this habit. Whether it is Einstein (who was described as a lazy dog by his professors at graduate school) or Feynman (whose paper that ultimately recieved the nobel prize was originally excoriated by his seniors) events move faster now, and original minds can now be canonized within their lifetimes. Einstein famously said something like "I always resented authorities - God has now punished me by making me an authority". This book can be regarded as the record of Feynman's attempt to evade or accept this fate.

As an avid Feynman fan, I was excited when I saw this volume appear in bookstores earlier this year. I was not disappointed. Michelle Feynman, the adopted daughter of the esteemed scientist/safe-cracker/bongo-player/raconteur Richard Feynman, has done a truly outstanding job of compiling the most compelling of her father's communications. These letters span a lifetime, from Feynman's undergraduate days through his service on the Congressional committee investigating negligence in the Challenger disaster. What really shines through in all of Feynman's correspondence is his zest for life, his helpful and infinitely curious nature, and his penchant for being quite the cut-up despite being one of the hardest-working physists of his era. If you have enjoyed reading or listening to other volumes of Feynman's exploits; if you have only approached him as a student of physics; even if you've never heard of the guy, I heartily recommend this book for a few hours of pleasurable reading which will give you insight into the mind of a great thinker and a very compassionate and wacky human being.

This is an excellent book that gives a compelling portrait of a great scientist, a fascinating personality, a decent human being. But it is a long book and gives far too much detail for anyone with a merely casual interest in Richard Feynman. Nearly 500 pages of letters to and from Feynman could either captivate you or bore you, depending on your level of interest. I was captivated. I wish I had known him personally; this book has reinforced that wish, and has partially satisfied it. Feynman was single-minded in his devotion to science: "This [physics research] is, in my mind, of even more importance than my love for Arline" (his first wife). Yet he was surely loving and devoted to her, as is particularly clear in a heart-breaking letter he wrote to Arline after her death. He was willing to correspond with ordinary people---particularly young people and teachers---about science, giving them good advice about what science is and how it should be studied and how it should be taught. "Stay human and on your pupil's side" was one bit of advice he gave to a mathematics teacher struggling to help his students with "new math." "You must fall in love with some activity" was a recurring theme in his advice to young people. Feynman even responded to at least one crank (who accused Feynman and others of suppressing the crank's views on relativity), pressing him respectfully but persistently to answer a simple question that got to the heart of the scientific issue. (He evidently never got an answer.) He refused all offers of honorary degrees, as a matter of principle, knowing how hard he had worked to get his earned degree. He refused all requests from institutions for letters of recommendation concerning their own people: "What's the matter with you fellows, he has been right there the past few years---can't you "evaluate" him best yourself?" He was often wry, as in this response to one congratulatory note when he won the Nobel prize: "I am sorry that I am unable to accede to your desire that I do not answer your note, as the machinery that I have set up for answering congratulatory letters does not permit that degree of flexibility. We suffer from the computer age." He was deeply concerned when he thought he might have caused unhappiness. One former student, for instance, thought little of his own ability to work on "worthwhile" problems; Feynman wrote at length, fearing that he as a teacher had given the student a false idea of what was worth working on, and trying hard to reassure him that the worthwhile problems are the ones you can solve. He could be touchy when the media wanted to prove that Feynman-the-scientific-genius was human by showing a picture of him playing the bongo drums: "I am human enough to tell you to go to hell" was his response on one such occasion. He was not a religious man (" I told him that I was as strong an atheist as he was likely to find ..."), but he was a highly principled man, who refused, for instance, t

With this new book collecting Richard Feynman's correspondence, you won't only better know about a Nobel laureate physicist, but you will be able to appreciate the deepest insight, knowledge and inspiration of an honest man. From his first beloved wife or the Manhattan project to motivation and good understanding of Physics. I have loved Feynman since I first read one of R. Leighton books when I was a teenager, he inspired and encouraged me a lot and since I had a great interest in Science I eventually fell in love with Physics, which I'm studying know, thanks to him. Besides, his wise guide helped me out to understand life better and cope with difficulties, mostly tackling problems à-la Feynman. This book is worth reading and it's quite big with hardcover so the price is quite great! Everybody interested in Feynman biography and character cannot miss this chance to meet him at his most personal book for which we all should thank his daughter Michelle Feynman. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR MAKING THE WORLD WISER ABOUT A GREAT SCIENTIST AND HUMAN BEING.

I have read everything out there that has ever been published from/about Richard Feynman. This book consisting of letters to and from this sharp, funny, sensistive and most curious human being is yet the most personal. Thank you, Michelle Feynman, for reading through mountains of paperwork and putting together such a wonderful book. These letters make you wonder, think, sometimes even cry -but most of all, laugh!!!