Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is an autobiographical set of anecdotes about larger-than-life physicist Richard P. Feynman. It is split into five sections, covering different periods of his life from childhood on, with six to 13 stories in each section.
Feynman, aside from being a great physicist, was a well-known prankster and iconoclast, with an insatiable curiosity that led to all sorts of interests unrelated to his field. Many of the stories deal with these non-scientific aspects, and even the science stories don't require much knowledge of the subject. Among other things (all recounted in this book), he worked on the super-secret Manhattan Project during World War II, gave a lecture attended by Albert Einstein, played in a Brazilian samba band, drew nudes, discovered a new law of physics (for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize), and basically had a whole lot of fun. | ||
Plot & Themes job/profession: Job/profession/poverty story Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - American Unusual characteristics: Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 2 () United States Yes Misc setting - scientific labs Writing Style Book makes you feel? - like laughing Pictures/Illustrations? - None How much dialogue in bio? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 0-25% of book |