Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman

Written by Richard P. Feynman and Timothy Ferris

Narrated by Richard Poe and Johanna Parker

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 10, 2008
• ISBN: 9781449802011

Reviews for Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track

[Dallin Jackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Feynman seems to have been a real character. Listening to his letters, I wish I had known him.

[nmele_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This collection of letters showed me another side of Richard Feynman--the teacher and the man, someone who replied to letters from perfect strangers posing questions about the physical world, criticizing his language, asking favors from him. Feynman's letters are gracefully written, polite, yet clearly the writing of the same man famous for his safe-cracking, bongo-playing and quick mind. Feynman also comes across as a passionate, dedicated teacher and as a loving father and husband. Pretty good reading.

[satyridae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully read!

[mmtz_82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you’ve read any books by or about Richard Feynman, then you have to read this collection of his letters, edited by his daughter, Michelle Feynman. The letters, written over most of his lifetime to family, friends, and complete strangers, tell you nearly everything you might want to know about the man.

Published in hardcover by Basic Books.

[nocto_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Collection of letters to/from Feynman, edited by his daughter. Some bits interesting, other bits pretty tedious; expect every reader will find different bits interesting though.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

By all accounts, physicist Richard Feynman was a remarkable guy: thoroughly likable, utterly brilliant, modestly plain-spoken, and gifted with a rare ability to explain complicated things clearly. His exploits included winning a Nobel Prize; playing the bongo drums in a ballet; working on the Manhattan Project, where he used to break into his colleagues' safes to highlight problems with security; and serving on the committee investigating the Challenger accident, where he famously dunked one of the shuttle's O-rings into his glass of ice water to prove that it turned brittle in the cold.

I adored Feynman's books Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?, which were collections of anecdotes from his life, as told to and transcribed by a friend of his. So I was interested to read this collection of his letters, compiled by his daughter many years after his death, but I did expect that it might be a bit dry, and likely more of historical interest than human interest. Well, I am delighted to report that I was completely wrong about that. These letters are warm and charming and often laugh-out-loud funny. They're also full of joy -- in physics, in teaching, in learning, and in family -- and contain some beautiful insights into the nature of what it's like to do science, particularly the way in which all scientific knowledge is grounded in doubt. A few of them are also very moving, especially his correspondence with his first wife, who was ill when they married and who died tragically young.

If I am absolutely honest, I have to confess that I am a little bit in love with Richard Feynman. Possibly I have been since I first read Surely You're Joking back in my late teens, but this collection has quite cemented it. Which is perhaps a little embarrassing, but I can at least take consolation in the fact that, based on his affable reply to a woman who wrote to say she'd fallen in love with him after seeing him on Nova, he would have responded with good grace.

[psiloiordinary_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A selection of letters chosen by his close family. An insight into his private personality and key events in his life.

Ranging from a correspondence with a young and dying wife, being torn between doing what she is asking and doing what is best for her, to light hearted asides and truly inspirational responses to members of the public after he achieved his celebrated status as Nobel prize winner.

Inspirational, heart warming, full of humour.

[meganandjustin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This collection of personal letters written over the lifetime of Richard Feynman was moving and inspiring. From his early letters to his first wife, dying in a hospital near Los Alamos where he was working during WWII, to the final letter in the book, written to a parent concerned over his bright child, Feynman's kindness and humor were touching and apparent. The letters were collected by his daughter, Michelle, and therefore are shown through a veil of love, but I feel this adds, not detracts.

[mhaley_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mildy entertaining. The first portion of the letters chosen by his son and daughter describing the coorespondence with his dying wife were a bit tedious, but they did reflect his unconditional love for his wife. The last two thirds of the letters showed the wonderful personality of RPF, and his ability to be a sensitive, caring man who took time to encourage young scientists. The letters reflect a humble man. A polar opposite of Albert Einstein, who was a complete self-centered, non-caring, loveless man.

[dotarvi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This collection of personal letters written over the lifetime of Richard Feynman was moving and inspiring. From his early letters to his first wife, dying in a hospital near Los Alamos where he was working during WWII, to the final letter in the book, written to a parent concerned over his bright child, Feynman's kindness and humor were touching and apparent. The letters were collected by his daughter, Michelle, and therefore are shown through a veil of love, but I feel this adds, not detracts.

[meggo_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book presents some new material, and the insights and descriptions by Feynman's daughter add depth and richness to the material. Much of the material was familiar from other sources, although the insights and family correspondence alone make this book worth reading.

[frailgesture · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I only recently bought this, but I can already tell that it'll be something I'll reread from time to time. I'm a minor fan of epistolary books (things like Letters to a Young Poet, or Chekhov's Life in Letters), and this is one of the better ones that I've come across. Feynman wasn't a prose stylist, but his writing is perfectly readable and enjoyable for what it is, and occasionally very moving, especially the early letters between him and his first wife. Writing was apparently their primary form of communication, since Feynman was holed up in Los Alamos working on the nuke while his wife was in a sanitarium or hospital dealing with her tuberculosis.

But even the more standard letters are amusing. Anyway, I really enjoy this book.