Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
"Few books really are 'a joy to read.' This one, full of charm and wisdom, truly is." (New Scientist) A Nobel Prize-winning physicist, a loving husband and father, an enthusiastic teacher, a surprisingly accomplished bongo player, and a genius of the highest caliber---Richard P. Feynman was all these and more. Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track--collecting over forty years' worth of Feynman's letters--offers an unprecedented look at the writer and thinker whose scientific mind and lust for life made him a legend in his own time. Containing missives to and from such scientific luminaries as Victor Weisskopf, Stephen Wolfram, James Watson, and Edward Teller, as well as a remarkable selection of letters to and from fans, students, family, and people from around the world eager for Feynman's advice and counsel, Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track not only illuminates the personal relationships that underwrote the key developments in modern science, but also forms the most intimate look at Feynman yet available. Feynman was a man many felt close to but few really knew, and this collection reveals the full wisdom and private passion of a personality that captivated everyone it touched. Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track is an eloquent testimony to the virtue of approaching the world with an inquiring eye; it demonstrates the full extent of the Feynman legacy like never before. Edited and with additional commentary by his daughter Michelle, it's a must-read for Feynman fans everywhere, and for anyone seeking to better understand one of the towering figures--and defining personalities--of the twentieth century.
"This collection of letters shows us for the first time the son caring for his father and mother, the father caring for his wife and children, the teacher caring for his students, the writer replying to people throughout the world who wrote to him about their problems and received his full and undivided attention." (Freeman Dyson, New York Review of Books)
"With the publication of Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track, we get Feynman direct-from his mind to the stationery and into the envelope. Compiled by his daughter, Michelle Feynman, the result is a labor of love and, at times, too much of a good thing.... Feynman often insisted that he couldn't write. Now we know better. It was another of his jokes." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman makes palpable the legend that surrounds this Nobel laureate and Caltech physics professor nonpareil. His correspondence affords the intimate yet respectful conversation with a genius usually reserved for a close friend or member of the family." (Christian Science Monitor)
About the Author
Richard P. Feynman was raised in Far Rockaway, New York, and received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1942. He played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, and went on to professorships at both Cornell University and the California Institute of Technology, where his unconventional lecture style secured his reputation as one of the greatest teachers of his era. In 1965 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the development of the theory of quantum electrodynamics.
Besides his work as a physicist, Feynman was at various times an artist, raconteur, bongo player, and safecracker, as well as the author of many books, including the bestselling Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, and Six Easy Pieces, named one of the best 100 nonfiction books of the twentieth century by The Modern Library. He died in 1988.
Michelle Feynman lives with her husband and two children in Altadena, California.
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track,Timothy Ferris,Michelle Feynman,Perseus Books Group,0465023711,Biography / Autobiography,General,Letters,Physics,Physics (General),Science,Science/Mathematics,Scientists - General,Biography: general,Other prose: from c 1900 -
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