Book read: Surely you're joking Mr Feynman by Ralph Leighton

I recently got the last two Feynman books that I had not read. This is a light hearted biography that concentrates on stories that the author was told by Feynman. They range from childhood days, student days, Los Almamos, to Las Vegas and beyond with each chapter being self contained. You get a sense of Feynman as a character not motivated by riches but driven by an interest in what was around him, either scientific or his wider interests.

It never goes too deep into Feynman himself, undoubtedly a complex character - I got the sense that he was always projecting himself in simple terms intended to be taken at face value. In truth he was much more complicated than that, and this book never really gets into any level of detail of Feynman the person.

Still an interesting read, and probably the best book for an initial introduction.