2 comments about The Feynman Tapes, Volume 1 (Chief Research Chemist and other stories) (The Feynman Tapes (Recorded By Ralph Leighton).).

1. "Surely Your Joking, Mr. Feynman!" is based on these tape recordings. Given his particular style of giving out ideas, it is always a better idea to listen to him 'in action' than just to read books. Included in a ``secret track'' is his unique experience with carbon tet. This story has never been published before.



2. Though Feynman died a pretty long time ago, an interesting phenomena, may be unique to him, is that he is constantly writing and publishing new books! That's because Feynman's bestsellers--the set of lectures given at Caltech, "Surely you're Joking", "What do you care?", "QED", and some others--were not written by him, though he is recognised being the author by everybody, including himself for those books published before he died. Actually as you certainly know, these books were edited by other peoples from audio tapes, which tapes were recorded for such or such occasion, lectures, TV, or for private use. That means Feynman told something that has been recorded, and somebody else rearranged it, added, cut, modified the grammar and the speech, moved the text around, to make a book out of it.

   For that matter, no one feels peculiarly wrong when editing books signed Richard P. Feynman, books he never knew he had written. It may seems fair as long as the editor stays close enough to Feynman's ideas, and most often it's okay in this regard... but some will always feel uneasy with somehow translated text.

   Feynman encouraged it when he was alive, and as an author of much success, they're keeping up the good work, till exhaustion of lost lectures it seems. Whether one feels this is morally good or wrong, there remains these original unarguable sources of this sounding fake literature. It happens you can get some of theses tapes! For those who have enjoyed the books, for you all, this is incredibly enough _better_ stuff.

   This one record, Feynman Volume 1, has been home recorded by Ralph Leighton after sessions of drumming with Feynman, pieces of which are incidentally included. In this first volume, we hear Feynman telling theses four stories that are entitled in "Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman" as "The Chief Research Chemist of the Metaplast Corporation", "I Want My Dollar!", "Thirteen Times" and "Judging Books by Their Covers". Stories as they're told sometime differ radically from stories as they're written. Those episodes that are hundred of pages separated in the book are actually recounted in an uninterrupted one hour and a minute delightful story, of a true Feynman _unedited_.

   Praise that audio sources from Feynman will keep on being released. If peoples feel the need for a book coming with them, they're welcome (and most often when it's technical, yes, it's necessary). But books without their actual source, and even though it's the way Feynman was "writing". should be disregarded.

1 comments about Bones for Barnum Brown Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter.

1. While the legendary R.T. travelled across the US and Mexico on his Harley (with camper sidecar), he kept his eyes open for curious objects. After years showing prize dairy cattle, he started his paleontological career with the finding of a new and special amphibian fossil. He ws soon mapping the mass of dinosaur bones at the Howe Quarry site for the famous Barnum Brown of the American Museum of Natural History, and continued that association while searching for foot prints of dinosaurs. This eventually led to Glen Rose, Texas where there were reports of large, three-toed tracks on and in the Paluxy River. While clearing some of these for photographing, he discovered that some large pits close by were really tracks of a creature with feet 38 inches long. A sauropod, the first ever so attributed! This book recounts many of this great man's finds and travails, a readable account certainly worth buying.

No comments about Alfred Nobel : A Biography.

2 comments about R.J. Mitchell: Schooldays to Spitfire.

1. Where would England be today without the work of Reginald Joseph Mitchell who designed the Spitfire and Dame Houston who paid for the development of the Merlin engine when the government could not or would not do it. She was a patriot before it was cool to be one.
   
   Mitchell despite his medical condition continued to work until the end. He even designed a 4 engine bomber that looked like a big spitfire and was faster that any other at the time. Unfortunately the prototype was damaged in a German bombing raid on the factory and the government would not fund another. There is no mention of him at the R.A.F. museum in London. An unknown hero. The Spitfire and radar in the UK and the radio proximity fuse in the US changed the outcome of the war.



2. What a pleasure to read a straight forward, well compiled book about a man and a time where integrity, loyalty and modesty mattered and self aggrandizement was not considered a virtue. So different from the situation today where, honours and plaudits are heaped upon those whose only claim to fame seems to be in the making of money.

No comments about Ivan Pavlov: Exploring the Animal Machine (Oxford Portraits in Science).

1 comments about Chemistry, Medicine, and Crime: Mateu J.B. Orfila (1787-1853) and His Times.

1. Chemistry, Medicine, and Crime: Mateu J.B. Orfila (1787-1853) is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors about Mateu J.B. Orfila, forensic researcher, laboratory worker, and educator of nineteenth century Europe. Orfila's theories and experiments led to striking advances in chemical and medical scientific knowledge. Essays discuss Orfila's input into controversies surrounding toxicology and especially arsenic poisoning; the lasting legacy of Orfila's regularly updated and translated textbooks; teaching practices of Orfila's era; and much more. A fascinating glimpse into the world of a gifted man who dedicated himself to advancing human scientific understanding.

No comments about Andre Michaux in Florida: An Eighteenth Century Botanical Journey.

2 comments about The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius.

1. THE FIRST SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND THE PURSUIT OF GENIUS comes from a history professor at Harvard, who shows how Franklin's evolving status as a scientific genius lends to appreciating his works and the evolution of science as a whole. There have been many biographies of Franklin over the years; but this is the first to narrow the focus on his scientific investigations and how they led to his political prominence. All of his scientific research is considered, linking science works with problem-solving at the social and political levels. New research into documents from his early career and those of his colleagues lend to a unique discussion here.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Let me start by saying up front that it pains me to give this book a low rating, because I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Thanks for that, however, go to Mr. Franklin, not Ms. Chaplin. Franklin was a fascinating figure with an interesting life, and it would be difficult to write an uninteresting book about him. This book, however, is rather poorly written and at times gives the impression of trying to stretch a little information a bit too far. To me, it felt as though she decided to write a book on Franklin the scientist, found she didn't quite have enough science material to fill a book, and decided to stretch it with repetitive, somewhat pretentious interpretation which added little too the book besides pages. At points I felt as though she was trying a little too hard to keep the book from becoming a biography of Franklin, staying completely focused on the science aspect when a little information on his life in general was need to place the science in context. The writing was frequently a little clunky and tiresome.
   
   Overall, worth reading, at least if you have a specific interest in the subject, but not worth buying in hardcover.

No comments about The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 1: Journalist, 1706-1730 (Life of Benjamin Franklin).

2 comments about Michael Faraday: Physics and Faith (Oxford Portraits in Science).

1. The book is easy-to-read and does both Faraday's life and his career justice. The reason for this all too rare balance and accuracy is almost certainly because of the fact that both the book's author Colin A. Russell and its editor Owen Gingerich are recognized and well-respected religion and science scholars as well as eminent scientists (Russell a well-respected chemist, Gingerich an astronomer).



2. APPROX 60 YEARS AGO,MY LATE MOTHER GAVE ME A MAGAZINE OR BOYS ADVENTURE BOOK ,AND I WAS ABSORBED BY THE STORY OF MICHAEL FARADAY;THIS DESCRIBED HIS WORK ON ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCES.I WAS FASCINATED THEN AND AM VERY PROUD TO SAY I AM STILL FASCINATED NOW AT 70 YEARS OF AGE :I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AS A MUST READ FOR ALL--REGARDS,ALBERT ANDREWS