Further Adventures of a Curious Character - What Do You Care What Other People Think?

Richard Feynman must have been a very interesting fellow! Too bad we all didn't get a chance to have a conversation with him in person. However, reading his books is the next best thing...he writes like he's in your living room.

I've enjoyed this book immensely. The style is light and easy to read. Feynman and his antics have inspired me to look at the world with curiosity and not to take myself too seriously. This is a book of life experiences, not technical science, so any reader can appreciate it.

Disappointing book. First half of book was a bunch of stories about his early life. Second half was about his role in investigating Challenger disaster. Somewhat disjointed. I expected much better quality from a very intelligent man.

Feynman was a brilliant scientist, but not a great writer. I enjoyed the book, but if you're looking for an account of the Challenger disaster I think there are better descriptions out there (I recommend Challenger: The Final Voyage).

I bought this book right away after reading Surely you are joking... and find it not as good mainly because the second half is somewat boring description of investigation of NASA shuttle crash. On the other hand if that is what you are interested in, go for it, because he describes it in great detail. Other than that book contain sad story about the death of his wife, speach about science and couple of stories which would fit nicely in Surely you are joking.

This book should be titled "The challenger investigation by R.P. Feynman". It's about 240 pages long. The first 105 pages are extremely interesting. Letters and notes detailing Dr. Feynman's life and his first love, the rest of the book is literally, a detailed excruciatingly boring account of his involvement in the Challenger accident.

This would have been fine and dandy if you want to know how,why,when,who of the shuttle accident. And, if the account took one chapter or two of the book, not the rest of it...

I bought the book to read about the man and his personal psychology. 5 stars for the first 106 pages and 1 star for the rest of the book.

This book is a continuation of the other Feynman autobiographic book, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman". While that one was very amusing even for those who dislike the main character, this one is mostly plain boring. It starts in a similar spirits: just another couple of anecdotes about Prof. Feynman - these are pretty good, although not too surprising after the first book. Then it only gets worse: after a few boring letters from Feynman to his wife from various conferences, it gets to the main course of the book: Feynman's involvement with the Presidential Rogers Commission, which investigated the Challenger disaster. This occupies about half of the book and is mostly boring. Avoid the book unless you're really into space shuttle disasters.

I really thought the book would be motivational, a deep look into why we shouldn't care what others think. I bought this book because the title popped out when I was somewhat depressed, but it was just a diary of someone and didn't have anything to do with the title. I guess he took a random quote and made it his title. But the picture and title is extremely misleading. Wasted 30 bucks on this, it has NOTHING to do with the title and imagery, it's just a summary of this scientists life, and is not what I was looking for. His life had nothing to do with that quote. He just talks about where he worked, then where he worked later, then his wife and how they don't hide secrets from each other, ok great but what in the world does it have to do with anything, I wish I had read the fine print.

The first half of the book has amusing anecdotes from Feynman's life. It also includes a tragedy that still has its lighter moments. The second half is mainly about the Challenger disaster and its aftermath where Feynman, by his own admission, gave the NASA bureaucrats more than a few headaches, both before and after the famous O-ring incident.

But there's much more than that in this brief work. Feynman's exasperation with the way the Washington D.C. system works is an eye opener, and he doesn't spare himself and his own naiveté for not anticipating the foot-dragging, the evasiveness, and the strange mix of politics that world involves.

Interestingly, he brings up something that I missed in the news back then. The ill-fated launching of the Challenger, in below-freezing weather later found responsible for the disaster, may well have been ordered by the White House, where Reagan had been planning to talk to the astronauts in orbit from the platform where he would be giving his State of the Union message. A delay in launching would have made that theatrical performance impossible, so off the space vehicle went to its doom.

Feynman, of course, offers no proof of this, but he gives a good description of the story being bruited about in both D.C. and Houston.

So...it's a book that's well worth reading, especially if one is interested in the more technical aspects of these early days of space vehicles. And, of course, Feynman's depiction of himself, as always, is both fascinating and charming.

The centerpiece of this collection of essays, photos, & drawings by “Nobel Laureate” Feynman is the account (“Mr. Feynman Goes to Washington”) of Feynman’s months in 1986 as a member of the Rogers Commission, formed to investigate the space shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986. The account is a microcosm of government and industry waste, indecision, & wasteful decisions at their zenith. Feynman’s account was the source for a recent TV movie, with William Hurt as Feynman.

Immediately there is this startling admission: at no time since the advent of the shuttle project had Feynman seen in any scientific publications results of experiments conducted on board any shuttle mission; experiments that were supposedly so vital to the shuttle project. This is an odd fact, given the standard “publish-or-perish” environment in which researchers in government and industry live and die.

The Rogers Commission had several famous people on its panel: astronauts Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride. William Rogers was the chairman: Nixon’s former Secretary of State. One of the commissioners with whom Feynman becomes quite close is USAF General Donald Kutyna (played by Bruce Greenwood in the movie), who was the Air Force’s point man on the shuttle project and also project manager on the Air Force’s Titan missile project. Gen. Kutyna becomes Feynman’s most powerful ally on the Commission, for like every commissioner but Feynman, Gen. Kutyna’s allegiance is elsewhere (in his case, to the Air Force) and not to the Commission. However, the general encourages Feynman in his independent investigations (Rogers is less enthusiastic).

The shuttle project was beset by troubles from the start, not the least of which were the infamous O-rings, which were to form seals in the field joints of the solid rocket boosters. The boosters themselves, designed to be reusable, had other troubles; Feynman wrote:

“…when the booster rockets hit the ocean, they become out of round a bit from the impact. At Kennedy they’re taken apart, and the sections—four for each rocket—are sent by rail to Thiokol, where they are packed with new propellant. Then they’re put back on a train for Florida. During transport, the sections (which are hauled on their sides) get squashed a little bit—the softish propellant is very heavy. The total amount of squashing is only a fraction of an inch, but when you put the rocket sections back together, a small gap is enough to let hot gases through: the O-rings are only a quarter of an inch thick and compressed only two-hundredths of an inch!”

Whereas these sections were “rounded” back into spec with a rounding machine, the labor required to connect the sections was arduous: a rod must be run through a series of 180 small holes and these holes must be counted. The assembly workers at Kennedy Space Center suggested painting lines 90 degrees apart on the sections, so that counting holes would not be so difficult. When Feynman is amazed that painting lines on the sections is deemed too expensive by NASA, the workers tell him the expense lay in rewriting the assembly manuals to reflect the change.

Another astounding fact about the shuttle project was that engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were always writing new software to correct the launch and reentry troubles that were discovered over the years; however, the onboard computers were so old that manufacturers no longer made them and to replace the millions of lines of code already in use would be “very costly.”

Computers operated everything: the launch, the release of the solid rocket boosters, the release of the liquid fuel tank, the orbiter, and the reentry. Oddly, the crew was allowed to manually lower the landing gear, a concession to pilots to do something, although the landing gear could also be lowered by ground control, in the event the crews were incapacitated. NASA engineers pressed for the computer operation of landing gear.

Originally, shuttle pilots were also allowed to brake the orbiter on landing; however, the slightest miscalculation on braking might lead to no brakes at the end of the runway, with the orbiter still moving. Soon, the braking system was also computer operated.

In the end, Feynman famously demonstrates that those O-rings were immalleable at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (temperature at the launch site on the morning of January 28 was 28 degrees and during the night had dropped to 21 degrees); he did so by squeezing a ring (taken from a shuttle model) in a small C-clamp and dunking it in ice water. The Commission was more interested in voting on the cover color of its report. Feynman’s own report appeared as an Appendix F.

"What Do You Care What Other People Think" seems to be a collection of addenda that, for whatever reason didn't fit into "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman".

The book starts off with some recollections from childhood. Feyman discusses how his dad inspired him to be curious about how the world works and "disrespectful" of authority, traits he attributes to being a successful scientist. It's an interesting discussion, especially for parents of young children. This leads into memories about his relationship with his first wife, Arlene, from mustering up the courage to ask her to dance, to her untimely death of TB. This is a touching story of a beautiful relationship. Despite the fact that it's overshadowed by a terminal illness, the narrative remains refreshing and uplifting rather than moribund with sentiment and sadness. Next, we get some Feynman anecdotes in the vein of "Surely You're Joking", but they don't rise to the same level of wit and interest. It seems like these were the stories left on the cutting room floor.

The second part of the book (over half the book's length) discusses Feynman's involvement with the Presidential committee investigation the explosion of the Challenger spacecraft. Feyman is a self-professed bull in a china shop, running roughshod over red tape, bureaucratic procedure, and political sensitivities. It's interesting to see how Feynman thinks about an investigation and amusing to watch him chase down his pet theories. However, the cause of the explosion is basically known from the outset. which diffuses most of the dramatic tension of the narrative.

The book concludes with a nice essay called "The Value of Science" in which Feyman contemplates science as the key to both "heaven and hell" in the world of practical applications. He also issues a rallying cry to promote science as a source of amazement and wonder rather than purely a practical concern.

For fans of Feyman, this is definitely worth a read. It's a mostly light and breezy (some mildly technical stuff on rocketry aside) that's reasonably interesting throughout. There's something undeniably magical about viewing the world through Feynman's eyes. However, this is no "Surely You're Joking" which should definitely be read first.

"The scientist has a lot of experience with ignorance and doubt and uncertainty, and this experience is of very great importance, I think. When a scientist doesn't know the answer to a problem, he is ignorant. When he has a hunch as to what the result is, he is uncertain. And when he is pretty darn sure of what the result is going to be, he is still in some doubt. We have found it of paramount importance that in order to progress we must recognize our ignorance and leave room for doubt. Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty--some most unsure, some nearly sure, but none absolutely certain.
Now, we scientists are used to this, and we take it for granted that it is perfectly consistent to be unsure, that it is possible to live and not know. But I don't know whether everyone realizes this is true." Feynman, The Value of Science

The book's title relates to Feynman's telling of his relationship and experiences with his first wife, Arlene, a victim of Hodgkin's disease. But the subtitle of this book would have made a better title than the one used. Feynman was indeed a curious sort, and he begins by telling how his father encouraged his curiosity.

Feynman achieved a measure of celebrity that few scientists do, and as a result, he sometimes found a forum for his thoughts outside of strict science. He was a fun and likeable man, and an innovative thinker as regards certain scientific difficulties; he wasn't much of a philosopher (evidenced by the fact that he thought Voltaire was a good philosopher), and in fact didn't like philosophy. While he was intelligent enough to admit that his views on art, culture, history, religion, and politics should not be taken too seriously, he was generally happy, and perhaps anxious, to offer such of his views anyway, and they are usually entertaining: "I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy--and when he talks about a nonscientific matter, he sounds as naive as anyone untrained in the matter. Since the question of the value of science is not a scientific subject, this talk is dedicated to proving my point-- by example." RF, The Value of Science

It hardly seems correct to call the short articles he wrote `essays', so I'll call them writings. This volume is a collection of Feynman's personal writings, with some contributions from physicist friends Freeman Dyson and Henry Bethe. Most of the book is Feynman's account of his work as a Commissioner investigating the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

This isn't a great science text, it isn't great literature; it's more like listening in on Feynman's thoughts and conversations. Apart from minimal aspects of Appendix F (Feynman's appendix to the Presidential Commission Report) his book isn't particularly technical. It's rather `light' and entertaining, and anyone interested in Feynman, in NASA and the US manned space program, or in bureaucratic `ethics' (or perversion thereof), will almost certainly enjoy it.

The follow-up to the successful, "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman" this book offers four pretty distinct parts.
First section describes how his father taught him to think about the world and his father's ambition to make young Richard a scientist. The end of the book is Feyman's case for the importance of science. In between we get the sad, but sweet story of his first wife and the utterly compelling story of his time on the committee investigating the challenger explosion. It was my favorite part of the book.
The description of how government committees decide facts and make recommendations was eye opening. It was the best description of how these things work that I've ever read. Feynman was constantly up against a committee chairman that wanted to keep everyone in a room asking questions of experts. Feynman didn't like that setup. He wanted to travel out to NASA and talk to engineers, so he did.
Going to Huston and Canaveral, Feynman learned something about the nature of NASA that probably goes for any big organization. He found that NASA was a unified force when their goal was putting a man of the moon. Information was shared freely and appreciated at every level. Once that goal was met NASA became compartmentalized.
Leaders at the top spent their time reassuring Congress that NASA would achieve their goals with low costs and high safety. Engineers at the bottom realized that this wasn't entirely possible. The middle managers didn't want to hear the challenges because they would be forced to report it to the top bosses who didn't want to hear it. It was much easier for top bosses to paint a rosy picture to Congress if they were unaware of the actual challenges of making it work. The end result was that top bosses said that the likelihood of a mission death was 1-100,000 while engineers on the ground felt that the likelihood was more like 1-300.
Feynman concludes that maybe the shuttle program was a bad idea. It could never live up to the ambitious projections of the leaders and the American public was being lied to. NASA should be honest with the American people, Feynman thought, then Congress and voters can decide if they are getting enough for their money. It was a surprisingly thing to hear from an advocate of science and discovery. But Feynam reckoned that the amount of science and discovery has been little compared to the cost. He complained years after the first shuttle launch he still hadn't read any significant experiments in scientific journals.
In all, I liked this book a little better than "Surely You're Joking." It was a little more thought provoking than those fun tales.

This book, a sequel - of sorts - to `Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!', continues the autobiographical journey of physicist Richard Feynman (d.1988), and expands on the some of the topics glossed over in the first book. For example, in his first autobiography, Feynman mentions his first wife, Arlene, and her death at a young age from tuberculosis; here, the story is expanded, "assembled over the past ten years out of pieces from six different stories", and although this episode was painful for the author, he ended up satisfied with the finished product, and Feynman was "happy to share it with others" (8). Other events covered in this book include Feynman's journeys to Switzerland and Japan, and the second part deals with his role in the space shuttle Challenger investigation, which occurred close to his death from cancer in 1988. The Challenger chapters are extremely interesting, and you believe his observations on how NASA and the government work in regards to tragedies that seem to threaten the status quo. In the last part of the book is Feynman's `Appendix F', his contribution to the Challenger investigation, almost left out of the report completely (was it by accident? Probably not). The final essay is `The Value of Science', an address originally delivered in 1955, where the author covers the role of science in a post-WWII nuclear capable world. This address resonates today as it did 50 years ago - my favorite paragraph deals with the founding fathers and Feynman's take on the creation of our government: "Even then it was clear to socially minded people that the openness of possibilities was an opportunity, and that doubt and discussion were essential to progress into the unknown." (247) Although not as entertaining as his first book, `What Do YOU Care What People Think?' is a wonderful companion piece to explore who Feynman was and what made him tick.

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) had a very full and adventurous life as can be gleaned from this great book. The first half is mostly autobiographical and anecdotal and in the typical Feynman way, he leaves nothing to the imagination. He spent the latter part of his life as a Professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Ca.

For hobbies he loved bongos and drums and occasionally performed with a drumming group at Caltech, but was content to spend hours drumming with close friends such as Ralph Leighton at his home. Feynman also enjoyed drawing and painting and some of his artwork is depicted in this book. The artwork was exacting and professional. There are several photos covering Feynman's life and concluding with space shuttle photos and diagrams.

The second half of the book, and some would say the most potent part, is dedicated to Feynman's participation in the investigation of the 1986 space shuttle "Challenger" accident. Feynman demonstrated the ultimate in dogged pursuit of the cause and was not to be intimidated or put-off by NASA and military officials who would have been happy not disclose the damning facts that they were thoroughly warned about safety issues before the launch, yet chose to ignore these warnings in deference to then Pres. Reagan's desire for a political feather in his cap by launching the shuttle on his schedule.

Who knows what, if anything, was explained to Reagan that the weather was too cold to launch (the shuttle was not suppose to be launched in less than 53 degree weather and the temperature at launch time was 29 degrees!). What is known is that the NASA management chose to ignore the warnings and heeded the beck and call of the President to launch. Later, and like typical management weasels, they tried to hush-up the fact that they were warned and then tried to blame the "O"-ring failure on the manufacturer, Thiokol.

During the inquiry, Feyman took the opportunity to demonstrate a simple, common-sense experiment in front of his fellow investigative teammates and news cameras that when the "O"-rings are chilled (he dropped a piece of one held by pliers in a glass of ice-water) they shrink and cannot seal properly, and especially when the violent vibration of the launch process is added for an ultimately disastrous mix.

If not for Feynman's persistence, this simple, but profound demonstration could have been swept under the rug and fingers unfairly pointed at Thiokol. Management refused to take any responsibility for the disaster, yet when in fact, their incompetent dismissal of the freeze conditions were what led to the disaster. Thank God for Richard Feynman! This is not only a fascinating look into Feynman's life, it is a national treasure, for here is where we see the bungling, politically motivated decisions of a great country being jerked around by bureaucrats leading, ultimately, to disaster.

"What do you care what other people think" might not be as fast-paced and full of as many laugh-out-loud anecdotes as "Surely You're Joking", but it's just as entertaining, and even more thought-provoking. The first half of the book is much like Surely You're Joking. It's a series of funny and touching stories and recounted adventures. The second part of the book details Feynman's work investigating the Challenger explosion in 1986. Despite how it sounds (and the opinion of another reviewer), it's not boring at all. In fact, it's absolutely fascinating. It's not just a description of the investigation, it's like a detective story, complete with mystery and deception and finding clues and following leads and beating the system. It also serves to demonstrate both Feynman's brillance and his ability to make just the right kind of trouble. Feynman, having been dropped out of his science element and into the bureaucracy of Washington, shows his wonderful childlike way of encountering new situations. Instead of going by the book and doing what he's told like many of the other commissioners, Feynman goes on his own one-man mission to solve the case. On the way, he discovers a lot of cover-ups and curious mistakes, which, when we remember that they lead to the haunting Challenger explosion, are awfully creepy. I think the Challenger investigation stuff is the most inspirational of Feynman's memoirs so far. What he reveals during his investigation is shaking; not just the incidents themselves, but what they say about human nature. Even more shaking is the realization that most of us never stop to question the status quo, even when it smells fishy. While the rest of the commission was on guided tours of Kennedy, Feynman would sneak away, against the wishes of the people in charge, to interview the lowest assembly workers. It's an example of how we all should be; always doubting, always finding out answers for ourselves, and always curious. Oh, despite being inspirational and all that, it's extremely funny!

A sort of sequel to "Surely You're Joking...," this book has fewer laughs but still kept me fascinated by the mind of Richard Feynman. "Surely You're Joking..." was filled with short humorous anecdotes, not necessarily related, coming together as a sketchy autobiography. "What Do You Care..." is a little different in form and has two main themes: Feynman's relationship with Arlene, his first wife, and his challenges with the Challenger space shuttle investigation.
In this book, as opposed to "Surely You're Joking..." we get stories that we can follow for a longer time, and so there is a little more depth to them. Arlene's character is described more fully here, so we can understand their relationship better, and that was interesting. But I was more drawn to the Challenger story, which consists of his difficulties in finding information on the causes of the explosion while having to deal with bureaucracy and the unscientific minds of management. Sure, there must be tons of biases in here (he's a very opinionated guy), but Feynman's adventures are nonetheless filled with wonderful insights about life and science. And the last chapter, "The Value of Science" deals with things that many have forgotten or have never learned about science, doubt, and integrity.

"What do you care what other people think" might not be as fast-paced and full of as many laugh-out-loud anecdotes as "Surely You're Joking", but it's just as entertaining, and even more thought-provoking. The first half of the book is much like Surely You're Joking. It's a series of funny and touching stories and recounted adventures. The second part of the book details Feynman's work investigating the Challenger explosion in 1986. Despite how it sounds (and the opinion of another reviewer), it's not boring at all. In fact, it's absolutely fascinating. It's not just a description of the investigation, it's like a detective story, complete with mystery and deception and finding clues and following leads and beating the system. It also serves to demonstrate both Feynman's brillance and his ability to make just the right kind of trouble. Feynman, having been dropped out of his science element and into the bureaucracy of Washington, shows his wonderful childlike way of encountering new situations. Instead of going by the book and doing what he's told like many of the other commissioners, Feynman goes on his own one-man mission to solve the case. On the way, he discovers a lot of cover-ups and curious mistakes, which, when we remember that they lead to the haunting Challenger explosion, are awfully creepy. I think the Challenger investigation stuff is the most inspirational of Feynman's memoirs so far. What he reveals during his investigation is shaking; not just the incidents themselves, but what they say about human nature. Even more shaking is the realization that most of us never stop to question the status quo, even when it smells fishy. While the rest of the commission was on guided tours of Kennedy, Feynman would sneak away, against the wishes of the people in charge, to interview the lowest assembly workers. It's an example of how we all should be; always doubting, always finding out answers for ourselves, and always curious. Oh, despite being inspirational and all that, it's extremely funny!

A sort of sequel to "Surely You're Joking...," this book has fewer laughs but still kept me fascinated by the mind of Richard Feynman. "Surely You're Joking..." was filled with short humorous anecdotes, not necessarily related, coming together as a sketchy autobiography. "What Do You Care..." is a little different in form and has two main themes: Feynman's relationship with Arlene, his first wife, and his challenges with the Challenger space shuttle investigation.
In this book, as opposed to "Surely You're Joking..." we get stories that we can follow for a longer time, and so there is a little more depth to them. Arlene's character is described more fully here, so we can understand their relationship better, and that was interesting. But I was more drawn to the Challenger story, which consists of his difficulties in finding information on the causes of the explosion while having to deal with bureaucracy and the unscientific minds of management. Sure, there must be tons of biases in here (he's a very opinionated guy), but Feynman's adventures are nonetheless filled with wonderful insights about life and science. And the last chapter, "The Value of Science" deals with things that many have forgotten or have never learned about science, doubt, and integrity.

Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" is a lot of fun. But fun was not the only thing in Feynman's life. "What Do you Care What Other People Think" is a rather different book.

Don't get me wrong: there are various funny stories in this book, too. And the book also describes various controversies - for example the story in which the silly feminists called Feynman "a sexist pig". Feynman never hesitated to inform morons (especially the pompous fools) that they were morons, and this book is another proof of it. Nevertheless, the main focus of the book is different.

Feynman first talks about his childhood - especially his father who taught him to question the orthodox thinking, and who probably always wanted Richard to become a scientist. On the other hand, Feynman's father was not an intellectual. One of the special features of Feynman is that he was brought up in an ordinary family - not in a family of professors which is unfortunately the case of most professors today.

The second part of the book is very sad and very emotional. It's about his first wife, Arlene. I think that the book will show you how much they loved each other and how big influence Arlene had on Feynman. Well, a problem was that she suffered from tuberculosis. She was dying while Feynman was working on the atomic bomb in Los Alamos. This part of the book could compete with any good fiction - the difference is that this story is real and it happened to one of the most influential physicists of all time. I am sure that you will agree that Feynman's heart was at least as strong as his brain.

However, it's not just a sad love story: Feynman also describes their tricks that they used to send letters to each other (circumventing the censorship in Los Alamos) and other amusing details of this period.

The third portion (about 55%) of the book is dedicated to the commission that investigated the explosion of the Challenger, the space shuttle in 1986. Feynman was always eager to get to the very heart of the matter and he never cared whether he looked "nice" to others. Even Ronald Reagan knew about that, and therefore he personally asked Feynman to serve on the committee (with Neil Armstrong and others).

Feynman did not disappoint and the book reveals the findings in depth - well sometimes the description is too detailed, I would say. It shows how some people in NASA - for example an executive called William Rogers - preferred the image (their personal image as well as the image of NASA) over the truth. You will also learn about many technical details that have led to the explosion. Feynman was thinking differently - unlike the chairman of the commission who thought that everyone should sit in a room and ask the experts, Feynman decided to talk to the engineers. Feynman's analysis is also a critique of the government bureaucracy.

Although NASA was probably a unified force when it sent the first men to the Moon, it became fragmented afterwards, Feynman argues. The engineers estimated the probability of the failure to be about 1:300, while the top bosses were painting an optimistic picture to the Congress that the probability of an explosion was about 1:100,000, and NASA can be both cheap as well as efficient.

Feynman's most visible conclusion is that the space shuttle program may have been a mistake because the public had to be fooled that the project was better than it actually was.

Feynman always believed that the public must be allowed to decide whether they want to fund you and your projects, after you honestly tell them what the project means. Unlike many unrealistic people in the academia who believe that an arbitrary amount of money paid for an arbitrary project in science is a good investment - and that it is always OK to fool the ordinary people to get some money - Feynman understood economics and the workings of the society very well. Moreover, honesty was his primary goal in debates with the laymen.

At the end of the book, Feynman advocates science and its principles. However, you don't need to be trained in physics to understand the book.

This book is a continuation and addendum of sorts to Mr. Feynman's first biography, "Surely you are joking, Mr. Feynman". The two major stories of the book involve Mr. Feynman's enormously influential first wife, Arlene and the second story involves Mr. Feynman's work in the Challenger disaster investigation. Sprinkled around these two major bookends are other humorous adventures and observations about a trip to Japan, being labeled a sexist pig by feminists, and hotel hunting in Europe to name just a few.

The Challenger investigation takes up a sizable chunk of the book and is sometimes filled with drier material. But the compelling event and frustrating insight into government bureaucracy holds some interest to make up for the technical specifications.
The first part of the book where his wife Arlene is discussed is so touching and powerful that the reader will be hard pressed not to get teary-eyed.
As noted in the review about the first biography, Mr. Feynman was an extremely curious person who explored things out of simple curiosity. His life's quest was nothing simpler than a desire to understand Nature. All the while, he tried to have the best time he could. Hopefully this reader can take away at least a little bit of that.

A lot of books written by scientific people claim to be "down-to-earth" and for the "layman" but end up creeping into the obscure. Not so here. Feynman starts with his feet planted firmly on the ground and never strays.
The first few stories range from the serious to the light-hearted. From the pain of losing his wife to being invited to speak at a funeral for a man whom he can't remember. These accounts give you a good look at the ability of Feynman to convey a story and make it interesting. The majority of the book however is given to the time he spent on the committee that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Using no nonsense, straight-forward writing he takes you through the process of how he and the others, despite a lot of bureaucratic red tape, managed to find out what went wrong on that fateful day. What could very well be a dry and uninspiring subject becomes quite informative and engaging through his telling.
This is my first book by Feynman, but having absorbed the whole thing in one sitting it surely won't be my last.

Not as entertaining as its predecessor, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", but still quite entertaining in its own way, more than half of this book is devoted to describing the experiences of Feynman as he took part in the committee investigating the Shuttle Challenger disaster. As anyone who's read the first book can imagine, setting Feynman loose on a governmental committee is not exactly a recipe for smooth interaction; what it IS a recipe for is getting far more straight answers uncovered than the bureaucrats want.
Not to say that this book isn't funny, but if you're looking for a chuckle, read the earlier book. If, on the other hand, you're in the mood for being reminded, in a fairly lighthearted way, just why it is that bureaucracies are not a good thing, this is the book for you. In addition to the section on the Challenger investigation, there are a few biographical anecdotes, as well as a closing lecture on "The Value of Science", all of which are good reading.

As others have noted this is the perfect companion to Reflections...... which I listened to on a long road trip. However this book needs to be read and the content savored while Reflections is more entertainment.

The Challenger investigation shines light on all that is wrong with Washington and the good people who perform despite the system. The book is worth reading if for only these chapters. These chapters are also must reading for anyone who read the 9/11 report and either believes it or completely distrusts it. Sadly the Washington insiders are masters at controlling independent panels from the Kennedy investigation to the most recent policical investigations. The term independent panel simply does not exist in DC. Sadly too many on the Challenger panel were working hard to protect that which most needed to be fixed. I believe the same truth holds true with the 9-11 investigation where the "scope" was carefully crafted to avoid potholes.

What's refreshing is Feynman's refusal to go along and also the coaching he received from the USAF general along the way.

Non technical, the book is suitable for interested readers from 10-100. Great illustration of how much positive impact can come from one great mind.

This book does complete justive to Feynman, and his life. That a genius such as Feynman, can be so simple, practical - should be an inspiration to all of us. This is the story of a person, who loved science and life - and more importantly, did not think of science as an esoteric skill that only a few could possess, but instead tried to apply it to things that we do in everyday life. What was special in this book though, was that it has presented a rare side of any scientist. People, usually, think of scientists, and especially, physicists, as people for whom their studies carry more importance than everything else, including their loved ones. Feynman proves that, being a genius does not require him to live upto that msleading expectation. He was always true to his philosophy of not caring for what others thought, which is reflected in him starting this book with stories about his life with his first wife, and giving it as much inportance as him being on the challenger commission.

I will start by saying that Feynman was a brilliant physicist. Unequivocally. My review of this book is for the book itself, not about the man in general. (And yet I still expect to receive many Not Helpful votes from Feynman acolytes.)

The book. The book itself. It bothered me a bit after reading it, though I wasn't sure why. And then I realized. In it Feynman doesn't come across as being particularly intelligent. If you don't know who Feynman is, and you read this book, you will assume he is an average kind of guy without much of interest to say. Even when he tries to explain his brilliant thought processes, such as experiments he did when young or his investigation of the Challenger explosion, they come across as fairly basic. Nothing particularly unusual or remarkable. It isn't that Feynman isn't brilliant. It's that he isn't a good enough writer to convey even a hint of that brilliance to a reader. And, since that isn't conveyed, there really isn't much point to reading this book. It isn't particularly interesting, engaging, enlightening, etc.

Here is another book of wonderful biographical anecdotes of one of the most intriguing scientists who has ever lived. However, those who are looking for merely a continuing edition of the tremendously popular (not to mention hilarious!) SURELY YOU'RE JOKING MR. FEYNMAN should take note: this present work does not qualify as that.
To be sure, there are a handful of chapters which would fit right into SYJMF. However, 2 major sections cover some exceptionally serious topics which are hardly material for Feynman's typical humor. One section details his love for his first wife as well as her untimely terminal illness. The other covers his work on the commission to disinter the technical problems that led to the explosion of the Space Shuttle CHALLENGER in 1986. These major sections encompass roughly 3/4 of the book.
The chapter on his wife's suffering is especially poignant and touched me very deeply. Feynman was a man whose love and compassion matched his intellect. I could not but feel empathy and admiration for the way he took care of his bride, knowing all along that she would not live long. His decision to be straight with her about her condition, instead of feeding her some fairy-tale story about how she had a good chance of recovery, was both painful and edifying to read.
The section on the CHALLENGER goes into great detail on everything that went wrong that fateful day in '86 as the nation watched the disaster on TV. To this day, I have not seen a television documentary cover this story as I think it should be covered.
I recently saw a special on the CHALLENGER on the DISCOVERY channel. It did an excellent job of focusing on how the engineers at THIOKOL were screaming at NASA not to launch, well into the wee hours of the morning of the catastrophe. However, what the special omitted was the cover-up and closing-of-ranks that NASA did AFTER the accident. To me, NASA's behavior after the fact was even more reprehensible than its carelessness before the launch.
It was for the reason of politics that then-president Ronald Reagan personally requested that Feynman be on-board the investigation committee [a committee that also included the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, among others]. Reagan knew that Feynman would get to the bottom of the matter (which he did) and that Feynman did not care for the politics of making NASA "look good" (which he didn't).
With this in mind, even people who are not interested in Richard Feynman, but are curious about what happened to the CHALLENGER would gain much by reading this book. Feynman explains his thorough, logical methodology and how it rubbed many people the wrong way. His straight-forward and honest disclosures of NASA's gerrymandering created much animosity between himself and NASA exec William Rogers (who, it seems, was more interested in NASA's image than getting to the heart of the matter). For those who are interested in further reading on the CHALLENGER topic, I would recommend NO ORDINARY GENIUS: THE ILLUSTRATED FEYNMAN ...
For Feynman enthusiasts, this book is vintage Feynman - a can't miss. As a bonus, the center of the book has photographs from his life, as well as some of his sketches. The book is equally recommended for people who wonder about what "really" happened to the CHALLENGER, and why it happened. NASA aficionados may be disappointed in the work as it exposes (truthfully) all of the fudge-factors, apathy for safety issues and faulty reasoning NASA used with the efficacy of launching CHALLENGER on time and preserving its positive image after the fact.

Wit,humor and scientific inquiry are all included in this book. "What do you care what other people think", is a sequel to Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) and contains some of the most intriguing details of the great Nobel Prize physics winner and his early life. Within the context of the book you will discover what inspired Feynmans love for science as a young boy, as well as his relationships that incurred with women, or more particularly Arlene. Various letters between Arlene and Richard as well as Richard and Gwenyth(Feynmans second wife) are shown as well. Within the midst of the book is a chapter devoted to images of Feynman at various places. Similarly, drawings in which Feynman drew are included which are all very well done. The second half of the book is devoted to Feynman at the Rogers Commission, If you have no interest in Feynman, but interested in the Challenger disaster of 1986, this book is recommended. Feynman gives a thorough insight on what occurred and what caused the disaster. Incisive figures are shown to give the reader an understanding of the shuttle and parts within. Many of the commission members will be understood through this book, many of whom are some interesting characters. Nevertheless, Feynman provides an in depth investigation of the O-Ring that ruptured off the Solid Rocket Booster as well as an investigation of Avionics,The Main Engine and many other parts of the shuttle. Many important facts are mentioned here regarding the shuttle, in which you don't want to miss! Ultimately, Feynman provides you with an appendix which was his report in the commission report. Also within the book is a lecture entitled "The value of science", this may very well be my favorite part of the book. It contains Feynmans views on the importance of science as well as the important outcomes that many tend to neglect. I HIGHLY recommend this book to all readers, whether it be one desiring a romantic novel, you will find it here. The same applies to those hoping to understand Feynman or one who hope to understand NASA and the Challenger Disaster, I can assure you, you will find it here.

Feynman's at it again in this sometimes-funny, sometimes-sad sequel to "Surely you're joking." Here, we meet his beloved first wife Arline, who died while Feynman was working on the bomb at Los Alamos. Later we follow Feynman to Washington, as he shines his piercing intellect through the NASA smokescreen surrounding the Challanger disaster. In between we're treated to Feynman's exasperated attempts to learn Japanese, and other adventures of this most curious character. While far from a balanced look at Feynman's life (James Gleick's "Genius" is the seminal work; it's sometimes hard to overlook author Ralph Leighton's unabashed hero worship), this book will be a delight to Feynmanauts.