Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

By: Richard P. Feynman

Narrated by: Raymond Todd

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most famous science books of our time, the phenomenal national bestseller that “buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist” (Science Digest).

Richard Feynman, one of the world’s greatest theoretical physicists, thrived on adventure. His outrageous exploits once shocked a Princeton dean’s wife to exclaim: “Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman!”

In this phenomenal national bestseller, the Nobel Prize–winning physicist recounts in his inimitable voice his experiences trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek, painting a naked female toreador, accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums, and much else of an eyebrow-raising and hilarious nature. Woven together with his views on science, Feynman’s life story is a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, eternal skepticism, and raging chutzpah.

©1985 by Richard P. Feynman (P)1997 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A chain reaction is not a bad analogy for Feynman's life. From a critical mass of gray matter it goes off in all directions, producing both heat and light." (Time)

Truly inspiring and entertaining

You would not expect a successful physicist to be funny at first glance, but the author is more than that. Love the book and the narrator. Highly recommended.

a peek into an extraordinary life and lessons

very interesting, with a good flow and a humorous twist to most stories. has a lot of good insights, observations and lessons. a joy to read! however, can get a bit technical at times

Terrific autobiography by a remarkable individual

I bought this book because of the number of positive references I had heard about it. It was surprisingly good and entertaining.

Great content, so-so reader

The stories and nuggets of wisdom Feynman leaves for us in this book are wonderful.

The reader is so-so. Not a lot of inflection in his voice. And it is a little cringe-y when he puts on an accent for various characters Feynman meets.

6 stars. Hilarious mischief by a very intelligent physicist

I’ve never laughed so hard at a book, and I’ve read some books by comedians. Feynman is extremely intelligent and quick witted, using his wits and curiosity to surprise and astound people.

The first half is better than the second, but it is all entertaining and well worth listening to. Feynman was a nuclear physicist on the atomic bomb, but his story starts as a 7 year old radio repairman in the depression, and just gets more interesting from there.

He is a bit of a flirt/player, and it’s not clear if sometimes he’s flirting while married, but he does seem to honour his wives well.

unpredictable

coming from a music teacher and lover of good stories, this book is quite fascinating. I was interested to read after seeing feynman videos on YouTube and recognizing his great teaching techniques. without spoilers, I can say that he couples critical thinking with shear fun so well that I will definitely be reading again.

OMG amazing!

I loved this book. Feynman is hilarious and I love him. I hope to hear more books narrarated by this narrarator.

great reading from this Todd fellow

maybe not what youd expect
quite an up close perspective revolving around all the minutae of a genius that leaves out the sensational almost on purpose. shows the power of intelligence to adapt in all fields

One of the best narrations I've heard

The story of Richard Feynman is pretty fascinating; it's interesting to hear his inner dialogue and how someone as brilliant as him still has his moments of uncertainty and doubt. But I have to say the way Raymond Todd narrated the book was just fantastic...i found myself with a s*** eating grin as I listened to the audio book on my way to/from work...this book made me look forward to my daily commute! love it.

The world's most curious man?

An incredibly curious man. A key phrase he made was "I have to understand the world you see". A fun and interesting listen, even if a lot of the math and science were way over my head. The things that stood out were his ability to take big bites out of life and try new and odd experiences just to know what they were like. Most of the book was very fun to listen to.

A bit "off" was his assurances that he didn't do drugs since he was "afraid of damaging his ability to think". He then quite casually talked about using marijuana and Ketamine, to induce and enhance hallucinations in his sensory deprivation tank experiments.

Narration was very good.