Rating: 
Summary: Hilariously intellectual and intellectually hilarious
Review: Richard Feynman is one of those rare breed of human beings whose gift of insightful intellectualism is matched by an equally remarkable sense of humor. This book takes us from his childhood to his professorship days at Caltech, at each turn giving us an honest, down-to-earth, and witty narritive of his "adventures" in life. From his time as a researcher in Los Alamos breaking into safes for convenience to reviewing books with empty pages, you can't help but feel that every day is an adventure for Feynman. Along the way we also get glimpses of his life as a physicist, his random hobbies, and many other aspects of his remarkable personality.This is an excellent read for all, and no knowledge of physics is a prerequisite. Feynman is a very talented lecturer and you might even pick up a thing or two about physics along the way as you read this book. The most important lesson from his stories is that there are always interesting and rewarding things in our every day lives, if only we are sufficiently open minded and critical to observe them!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I couldn't put the book down.... even the third time I read it!
Rating:
Summary: Great fun
Review: I found this book to be easy to read, fun to read, and memorable. I feel it increased my scientific curiosity about the world around me. For example his testing the ability of his mind to time something, I try occasionally and find I am very bad at it. I think he wanted to learn about everything and it was interesting to me that he came across as psychologically blind. This made me more aware of my own blind spots, such as my inability to see any beauty in a Braque painting, whereas someone I greatly respect can go into ecstasy over them. It was fun to be a fly on the wall allowed to be let in on some aspects of the life of one of the great scientists.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: Enjoyable, Hard to put down. The chapter on Altered States was only so so.
Rating: 
Summary: fresh from the oven vs. warmed over
Review: I've no doubt this "Set of Anecdotes", as Feynman called it, was far more fascinating when told by the man himself. On paper it's boring. Some of these stories are supposed to be funny, but aren't. Others have a moral lesson (about honesty, usually), which is invariably presented in a "gee whiz! I guess no one else in the history of the world ever thought of _that_ before!" tone. None are worth reading for themselves, unless you're a Feynman fan who has to read every page the man put his pen to. Feynman the Character (apart from Feynman the scientist) is unduly worshipped by physicists. It's as if they have to point to Feynman, while shouting defensively to the world's artists, writers, musicians, and directors, "See! See! We can have personality too!" The popularity of this book is a symptom of this Feynman cult.
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Summary: Richard Feynman: contemporary Leonardo
Review: The title of this review may sound as a little bit of an overstatement, given Leonardo Da Vinci's stature, but it is a very close way to depict this distinguished North American physicist who, among MANY other things, won the Nobel Prize, worked in Project Manhattan (at Los Alamos lab) and was part of the team that investigated (and discovered) the cause of the explosion of the Challenger. If this could already be enough to elevate him a lot, you'll discover through this book how his life was constituted by one of the most interesting and rich cultural mosaics one can imagine. Always struggling to look at things "differently", Feynman became a very sought-after educator, teaching at the United States most prestigious universities, as well as other schools in places like Brazil. At the end of the day, Feynman's most important teachings might come as: 'Never take yourself too seriously' (as other reviewers have already commented), 'Always keep an open mind' and 'Focus your efforts on what really matters'. If you enjoy this book (which I'm sure you will), check out what could be considered part two of it: What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character; as well as Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey - both, highly recommendable.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny 'Scientific' Biographies
Review: I enjoyed this book. If you enjoy this kind of thing then I reccommend these 2 books: The man who loved only numbers - Paul Hoffman and Dancing naked in the mindfield - Kary Mullis
Rating: 
Summary: aaaaaaaahh, fair.
Review: Okay, I admired and respected Richard Feynman alot and this book was a good read. But I agree with some of the other reviewers that he might have come across as being arrogant and that some of the anecdotes were gleefully condescending. I had the unconfortable feeling that I might have been one of the hopeless luddites he was lampooning! If you can get past this feeling, however, you will enjoy the book. It does reveal how a truly great mind works, warts and all.
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Summary: Hooray!
Review: This is one of those pricelss gems that profiles what you REALLY would like to know about one of America's favorite geniuses. The book is essentially all vignettes about how this humble questioner made his way from bellhop, to MIT student, to biologist, to nuclear avatar. In all you'll find yourself wanting to adopt his attitude of being just a little more curious about the world and realizing that if one person can do it--someone else can too!
Rating:
Summary: Odd Source of Inspiration
Review: When I was in high school, my Dad called me up one night to tell me about a NOVA episode he'd seen. "This scientist wrote this theory called QED, and you'll love it!" he said. I got my hands on a copy of QED, but didn't understand a word of it! A year or so later, I spotted "Surely You're Joking" on a bookshelf at school, and recognized the name. Was this the same scientist who'd written about the photons and path-integrals and other confusing mathematical nonsense? It was indeed! This book details, in Feynman's own words, various anecdotes which should more properly be termed 'misadventures'. This nobel laureate relates tales of lockpicking safes at the Manhatten Project, of stealing doors from dormitories, and leaning how to draw as an excuse to see naked women. It shows that even our greatest scientists can be just regular guys like you and me. Feynman is regarded by the scientific community as one of the greatest minds of our time, on a par with Einstein. Yet amidst this, he managed to teach me a lesson that helped me become the man I am today: "What do you care what other people think?" I never knew the man, but his influence is there now in every aspect of my life. This title is recommended for anyone who gets singled out, feels different from people around him, or simply likes a good story! Love you, Dick!
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