What do You think about Genius: The Life And Science Of Richard Feynman (1993)?
A nice easy read of Feynman's life broken down into the places he lived, schooled, and taught. It's definitely a nice addendum to "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" and it reveals some of his inner workings and the love lost in his life.However having started to read Robert Caro's 5-part LBJ biography, I can't help but feel the limitations on such a short piece of work, trying to sum up a man as complicated as Richard Feynman. I can sense the details glossed over and nuances missed, every characterization is blunt and imprecise. As much as I enjoyed the book, and as easy as it was to read and flow, I think Feynman would have probably been exasperated by a book trying to sum him up in so few pages. Failing by its limitations....still liked it though, I'd recommend it for somebody who wanted to know a little bit about this smart dude.
—Wilson Mui
Gleick is a thorough, intelligent science writer able to give over complex ideas without sacrificing too much depth. He still lost me with some of the particle physics stuff. Feynman started his academic career as a precocious math undergrad at Princeton, and went to the pinnacle of modern science, first at the Manhattan Project and later designing a daunting freshman physics curriculum at CalTech later published as "Six Easy Pieces". His career neatly parallels the modern perception of science: theoretical physics was transformed from a discipline akin, in practical application, to "medieval French", to a near-religion, captivating the awed respect of the public, and leading to enormous increases in governmental research spending and the development of "Big Science". And later, as the pace of new developments dropped, and scientists, confronted with an ever-increasing list of particles, gradually gave up on finding a unified theory of the atom, more mystical and antiscientific thinking gradually re-emerged. Notable personal aspects of Feynman were his pre-feminist attitudes toward women, culminating in protests at some of his public talks, and, related, his near-constant womanising. (He never recovered emotionally from the death of his beloved first wife.) Also worth noting is that his quips and stories, seemingly off-the-cuff, were carefully rehearsed in his notebooks.All of which shouldn't take away from the scope of his genius. Gleick sees his subject as the genius par excellence, akin to Einstein and Newton (the latter a previous biographical subject). He devotes a chapter in the final section to a fascinating discussion of the nature and history of "genius". Feynman's thinking was, in speed and clarity, unlike that of normal people.One final point: in an interview with the BBC retold by Gleick, Feynman becomes quite agitated when asked to explain in layman's terms how magnets work. He insists that they just work. This is quite out of the ordinary, as in every other regard Feynman seemed to consider the ability to explain something in simple terms as the hallmark of a clear understanding. This just adds to my conviction that the Insane Clown Posse was really onto something.
—Josh Friedlander
Surely it was my own fault, idolizing Feynman as much as I did after reading "Surely you are joking Mr. Feynman". Ofc he is just human after all with a lot of chauvinism and naivety thrown into the mix.I just can't help wondering what goal Genius by Gleick is supposed to accomplish. You could argue it's a neutral account of the life of one of the most idolized 20th century geniuses, but I will argue it's boring and unnecessary.Feynman was all about finding interesting aspects in the mundane. This book is all about finding mundane aspects in the interesting.
—Florian Blümm
