94. Feynman, Richard P. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. Ed. Jeffrey Robbins. 257 pages. 7.18.09.

Richard Feynman's The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a collection of interviews, lectures, and other short works written by the Nobel Prize winning physicist. The volume, wonderfully and unobtrusively edited by Jeffrey Robbins, covers a wide range of materials that gives readers a sense not only of the scientist, but of the man; in the included works the audience is treated to stories of Feynman's childhood, his experiences and hijinks while working at Los Alamos during WWII, formal lectures and speeches on various scientific subjects, and a healthy dash of humor and personality throughout.

I was intimidated to read the work, as I fully acknowledge my lack of competency in subjects like mathematics and physics, but my husband (a great admirer of Feynman) promised me I wouldn't get lost in the physics, so I gave it a try. And yes, I did get lost at time - although more so when Feynman discussed nanotechnology than anything else - but I found it very easy to pick up the narrative again if I didn't get myself worked up over understanding the specifics of the material. I wasn't reading The Pleasure of Finding Things Out to understand physics and nanotechnology; I was reading the work to understand a little more about one of my husband's heroes, and the volume accomplished just that. Even for someone with only a marginal interest in Feynman's actual work I found The Pleasure of Finding Things Out to be quite charming.