Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track

Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
by Richard P. Feynman

Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
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Book Summary Information

Author: Richard P. Feynman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-04-25
ISBN: 0465023711
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Basic Books

Book Reviews of Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track

Book Review: Perfectly reasonable listening
Summary: 5 Stars

My wife recently gave me the audio version of this book (on CD). I never had listened to an audio book before, but with my background in science (medicine), I gave it a try, having read the various short autobiographies by Feynman. First, though, I converted the CD files to MP3 files in my iTunes program, then listened to the entire book over several weeks in my car on the way to and from work. (All of the 8 CDs can be fitted onto a 2GB Nano iPod, thus minimizing the inconvenience of having to swap out discs while listening.)
I was very surprised. The book is voiced by Richard Poe (doing all of Feynman's words) and Johanna Parker, who plays the voices of various correspondents, male or female. Richard Poe comes across as no-nonsense, crusty, harrumphing sort of person, while Johanna Parker is alternately devotional (Feynman's first wife) or takes on various other personas (an Indian undergraduate science student, a grade school boy, a British correspondent), all inflected appropriately.
The book takes us through the years of Feynman's professional career, from graduate studies to his work for the Shuttle disaster commission in 1986, shortly before his death from an abdominal tumor. Unfortunately, there are large gaps in the collection, probably a result of the inability to locate crucial letters for various reasons, and there is virtually nothing from Feynman's last wife (and nothing from his second wife, from a brief marriage Feynman would have preferred to forget).
Aside from this, the recording was very compelling. One could hear the wisdom of this great (if pompous) scientist, who repeatedly argued for a rational approach to problem solving. It was like hearing a well-regarded counselor in my car, a father figure (who himself was a proud father). The words are not too difficult for people without science backgrounds. You hear his views on promoting women in science, raising children, Greek archeology. Sometimes his responses are all too terse, just one sentence, but these convey how much he wanted to get right to the point.
Both Poe and Parker are very engaging, and after several hours' listening, the story is over all too quickly. So, you play it again.
Well worth listening to for anyone who wants to be inspired to take the most direct and logical way to sort through life's problems.

Summary of Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track

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.

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