Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman

<p><p>from The Author Of The National Bestseller Chaos Comes An Outstanding Biography Of One Of The Most Dazzling And Flamboyant Scientists Of The 20th Century That &quot;not Only Paints A Highly Attractive Portrait Of Feynman But Also . . . Makes For A Stimulating Adventure In The Annals Of Science&quot; (the New York Times). 16 Pages Of Photos.</p> <h3>publishers Weekly</h3> <p>it Would Be Hard To Tell Personal Stories About The Late Nobelist Feynman (1918-1988) Better Than The Subject Himself Did In What Do You Care What Other People Think? To His Credit, Gleick Does Not Try. Rather, He Depicts Feynman's ``curious Character'' In Its Real Context: The Science He Helped Develop During Physics' Most Revolutionary Era. Fans Of Feynman's Own Bestseller, ``surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! , '' Won't Be Disappointed By His Colleagues' Recollections Of His Reckless Obsession With Doing Science (a Grad-school Dorm Neighbor Once Opened Feynman's Door To Find Him Rolling On The Floor As He Worked On A Problem); But The Anecdotes Punctuate An Expanded Account Of Feynman The Visceral Working Scientist, Not Feynman The Iconoclast. This Biography Wants To Measure Both The Particle And The Wave Of 20th-century Genius--feynman's, Julian Schwinger's, Murray Gell-mann's, And Others'--in The Quantum Era. Gleick Seems To Have Enjoyed The Cooperation Of Feynman's Family Plus That Of A Good Many Of His Colleagues From The Manhattan Project And The Challenger Inquiry (in Which Feynman Played A Scene-stealing Role), And He Steadily Levies Just Enough Of The Burden Of Feynman's Genius On The Reader So That The Physicist Remains, In The End, A Person And Not An Icon Of Science. A Genius Could Not Hope For Better. Gleick Is The Author Of Chaos: The Making Of A New Science. (oct.)</p>