An illuminating portrayal of Richard Feynman - a giant of twentieth century physics - from his childhood tinkering with radios, to his vital work on the Manhattan Project and beyond. Raised in Depression-era Rockaway Beach, physicist Richard Feynman was irreverent, eccentric, and childishly enthusiastic - a new kind of scientist in a field that was in its infancy. His quick mastery of quantum mechanics earned him a place at Los Alamos working on the Manhattan Project under J. Robert Oppenheimer, where the giddy young man held his own among the nation's greatest minds. There, Feynman turned theory into practice, culminating in the Trinity test, on July 16, 1945, when the Atomic Age was born. He was only twenty-seven. And he was just getting started. In this sweeping biography, James Gleick captures the forceful personality of a great man, integrating Feynman's work and life in a way that is accessible to laymen and fascinating for the scientists who follow in his footsteps.
"A thorough and masterful portrait of one of the great minds of the century... Gleick succeeds in giving us a rare insight into the scientific community, its values, and its mentality... [He] brings to Genius high intelligence, a strong sense of narrative, and excellent prose."
The New York Review of Books
"A thorough overview of modern physics... inspired."
