No twentieth-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918–1988)—physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film. The spectacular reception of the book and audio versions of Feynman’s Six Easy Pieces (published in 1995) resulted in a worldwide clamor for “More Feynman! More Feynman!” The outcome is these six additional lectures, drawn from the celebrated three-volume Lectures on Physics. Though slightly more challenging than the first six, these lectures are more focused, delving into the most revolutionary discovery in twentieth-century physics: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. No single breakthrough in twentieth-century physics (with the possible exception of quantum mechanics) changed our view of the world more than that of Einstein’s discovery of relativity. The notions that the flow of time is not a constant, that the mass of an object depends on its velocity, and that the speed of light is a constant no matter what the motion of the observer, at first seemed shocking to scientists and laymen alike. But, as Feynman shows so clearly and so entertainingly in the lectures chosen for this volume, these crazy notions are no mere dry principles of physics, but are things of beauty and elegance. No one—not even Einstein himself—explained these difficult, anti-intuitive concepts more clearly, or with more verve and gusto, than Richard Feynman.
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces
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About the Author
Richard P. Feynman was raised in Far Rockaway, New York, and received his Ph.D. from Princeton. He held professorships at both Cornell and the California Institute of Technology. In 1965 he received the Nobel Prize for his work on quantum electrodynamics. He died in 1988.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By James Yanni
Format:Paperback
If you've got a fair background in beginning Calculus and elementary physics, you may find this book very worthwhile. I wouldn't know.
Don't be fooled, however, by reviewers who claim that Feynman explains things in such a way that even without those basic tools, the book isn't incomprehensible. I've HAD basic calculus, albeit a LONG time ago, and I'm a tad rusty. And I have even less grounding in physics. But I'm far from mathematically illiterate, or incapable. And it isn't true that I got nothing out of my reading of this book; the sixth chapter did, in fact, answer the question that I'd hoped to have answered when I bought it. But by and large, the book was close to impenetrable. Now, clearly, this may well be due to my lack of preparation in the prerequisites for understanding it. But it definitely is NOT the first step in the process of understanding physics, as one reviewer actually called it and others implied. Read "Six Easy Pieces" first, and brush up on first-year Calculus. THEN consider tackling this book.
By Nav425
Format:Paperback
Comme toujours, un livre de Richard P. Feynman qui aide à la compréhension d'un sujet difficile à comprendre.
Il explique le tout dans des termes facile a saisir pour ceux qui n'ont pas de formation en physique.
Il explique le tout dans des termes facile a saisir pour ceux qui n'ont pas de formation en physique.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Six not so Easy Pieses is a small anthology of six pieces taken from Feynman's great classic, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, which were delivered to Caltech freshman. I would not recommend buying this book unless you have an excellent backround in calculus and how it relates to physics. I have read the first volume of the Lectures, and i will tell you it is nice having this to accompany it, since some of the chapters such as on Relativity merit to be read twice and since the Lectures is so bulky and heavy. There is no way someone can read understand what he's saying without knowing a good amount of math. Its like reading a book in which all the concepts are expressed in Greek. Also, these lectures were given during the middle of course, and he often mentions things which were discussed in previous lectures. The reason it gets a four is because the lectures are great (many great lectures were ommitted though), but it is too short and is out of place. This is NOT a great sequel to Six Easy Lectures, they have practically nothing to do with each other. The perfect sequal to Six Easy Lectures is the whole first volume of the Lectures.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six More Elegantly Explained Concepts
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces is the sequel to the book Six Easy Pieces. The first book is a collection of six of the easier lectures from Feynman's freshman and sophomore physics classes... Read more
Published on April 4 2003 by John
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not-so-easy to stop reading
How refreshing it was to read Feynman's explanation of relativity after wading through Einstein's dry coverage of the same material. Read more
Published on Feb 11 2002 by Michael Bayne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not-So-Difficult, But Wonderfully Challenging
"Six Not-So-Easy Pieces" are six selections from the Feynman "Lectures on Physics". Read more
Published on Jun 27 2001 by Abigail Nussey
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Challenging Intro to Thinking Physical
"Six Not-So-Easy Pieces" are six selections from the Feynman "Lectures on Physics". They represent not the hardest material to be found in the "Lectures" (and certainly not... Read more
Published on Jun 27 2001 by Abigail Nussey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best introduction to relativity
If you want to understand relativity, start with this book. Feynman's explanation of the basic principles is very clever. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a review of the CD
The tittle of the book gives away the contents. I bought the CD because I have an hour commute to work and don't want to waste time on traffic reports. Read more
Published on Aug 20 2000 by bernie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not-So-Easy Concepts Made Easy
As in the first book, Feynman clearly explains each concept from vectors to curved space-time in a manner suitable for those embarking on those concepts. Read more
Published on July 9 2000 by Eugene Byrne
5.0 out of 5 stars
The "Theory" behind the Theory of Relativity
These lectures where designed to give the student the reasoning behind relativity. Unlike some books, this book does not just explain the results or phenomena of relativity. Read more
Published on Jun 14 2000 by Alex Mikhail
5.0 out of 5 stars
Needs 10 STARS
Wish I could give 10 Stars!
I am biased as all get out simply because I met the man and well I was a major fan. Read more
Published on May 6 2000 by Beth DeRoos
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Teacher's Companion
This book, its predecessor and the entire lecture series are the finest companion that a physics teacher can have. Read more
Published on Jan 25 2000 by John
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