5 comments about The Coalwood Way.

1. A story told first time can be fasicnating. As Rocket Boys was. The same story told second time is just boring. The first one had a backbone: boys trying to achieve the goal despite the circumstances. The second one - ranomly selected stories about this or that - I simply don't care. Meaningless and boring



2. I'm not sure where the below reviewers are coming from. The Coalwood Way, although including the Rocket Boys, is very much different from the first memoir. And it is not a bunch of disconnected stories, not at all! The Coalwood Way opens with Sonny Hickam in a strange depression a year after the death of his grandfather who had lost his legs in the coal mine. It is a depression he struggles with throughout the book and is the core thread. How he determines what is causing that depression really fills out a part of the original memoir that was left out and provides us with insight as to how he ultimately succeeds. Hickam reveals how that last winter in Coalwood so much is happening to him and his friends. His rockets are starting to work, but nothing else does. He even lets Chipper, his mom's beloved squirrel, escape into the winter cold and snow. He also meets Dreama, a young woman also struggling, and wanting Sonny to be her friend. Dreama is considered something like white trash, and is living with one of the most detestable men in town. Sonny also falls for Ginger who dreams of being a professional singer and provides an interesting counterpoint to the coal miners' sons of Coalwood with their dreams of spaceflight. "Dad," or Homer, Sr. is also struggling, trying to open a part of the mine that has defeated previous mine superintendents but upon which the future of Coalwood depends. "Mom," or Elsie, struggles with her failure to win the annual Veteran's Day parade (Coalwood's float has always won before), as well as her continuing attempts to get Homer, Sr. to quit the mine before black lung kills him. Elsie also identifies very much with Dreama and wants to help her but is held back by the "Coalwood way". The story is told with Hickam's tradmark humor and there are as many laugh out loud moments as tears. The dramatic arc of these threads to the story all join in a night of murder and mayhem when Coalwood is also buried in a huge snowstorm and cut off from the rest of the world. This is followed by another night of hope and amazing redemption on Christmas Eve that will cause even the hardest heart to melt. In many ways, this is Hickam's Coalwood Christmas story and it's a great one. You will love it.



3. "The Coalwood Way" is the part 2 contiuation of the "Rocket Boys", AKA:"October Sky". I just really like the way Mr. Hickam tells his story in his books. I find them to be "Americana" like- a success story from a humble start. I think the series could be a must read for middle and high school students as a way to see their potential in their own future and not just the here and now. A great book (and series) to read!



4. Dr. Werner von Braun once said, "Matters of faith are not really accessible to our rational thinking. I find it best not to ask any questions, but to just believe..." These words are truly conveyed throughout the second of Homer Hickam Jr.'s memoirs, The Coalwood Way, originally published in 2000. Although following his acclaimed, Rocket Boys, this compelling story does not continue where the last left off. Portions of the memoir take place during the same time period as the last, however, this tome portrays the life of Homer "Sonny" Hickam in a different light. This particular memoir focuses on Sonny's senior year in high school and the hardships he must go through when growing up. In addition to working diligently on creating improved rockets, Sonny must focus on achieving A's in school. Most importantly, he must focus on his family. In 1959 Coalwood, West Virginia is a ticking bomb and as it becomes more and more difficult to keep the mines running, the bomb seems to always be the verge of exploding leaving the people out of jobs, homes and, even worse, their town. Sonny must now try to keep his family together while the town falls apart and yet keep alive the dream of leaving in order to join his role model, Dr. Werner von Braun, at Cape Canaveral.
   Sonny Hickam is on his way to fulfilling his dreams as the book begins. However there a few obstacles on the way. Troubles in his family prevent Sonny from leading an easy, carefree life. His mother, Elsie, is growing increasingly impatient with Sonny's father. Sonny's father, Homer, is the mine superintendent and with the opening of a dangerous new mine, 11 East; ultimately, he is home even less often than usual. The strain on the marriage becomes too much for Sonny's mother and she insists on leaving Coalwood to escape to Myrtle Beach in order to sell real estate. In addition to his domestic hardships, Sonny is having troubles with himself. Every so often, although only lasting a few minutes, Sonny will find himself engulfed in an unexplainable grief. This mystery baffles Sonny day after day. As he searches for the origin of this mystery grief, he learns more than he ever imagined. Sonny's emotions and adventures are vividly depicted through a truly sentimental story, splashed with humor in all the right places. The writing style of Homer Hickam in this memoir is once again captivating and absolutely unforgettable.
   Although one may think memoirs aren't written well due to the lack of an experienced writer, The Coalwood Way reads like an old time fable. It is written in such a way that you are taken from your own world and thrown into the small town in West Virginia. Hickam depicts Coalwood in such a way that the image of every part of the quaint town is etched into your mind. His method of writing will bring you to tears when tragedy strikes and laughter when Sonny finds himself in a humorous predicament.
   This memoir is all about finding yourself and realizing that whenever life trips you up, someone will always be there to catch you when you fall. Throughout this lucid story, Sonny tries to find himself, and while looking down on his beloved town, he finally realizes the answer to what he's being puzzling all along. He understands his feelings, thinking: "My parents, and all the people of Coalwood, had given me the only true gifts they could ever give, that of their wisdom, and of their dreams, and of their love. All fear, sadness, and anger inside me had vanished. I knew who I was and where I came from and who my people were. I was ready to leave because I could never leave." Once Sonny realizes he can let go of the past, he is able to finally leave his hometown with the closure he needs to succeed.



5. Another excellent book by Homer Hickam, If you don't read the trilogy you're missing a true West Virginia experience

5 comments about The Radioactive Boy Scout: The Frightening True Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor.

1. The *story* is very interesting, but the author repeatedly annoyed me. As others have said, if he had stuck to the story, the book would have been much, much shorter. There was some useful background information about nuclear history and research, but there was also absolutely useless information thrown in as well. [...].
   
   The author was also rather condescending toward David (the boy), his parents, and virtually anyone else who knew him, it seemed. I felt bad for David in particular. The author clearly interviewed him and got to know him somewhat, then he took quotations and used them in ways that David didn't intend for them to sound. And the general tone toward David seemed rather uncharitable. I think he realized this and tried to remedy it a bit in the epilogue, but it doesn't undo the rest of the book. I think that a better author could have conveyed the obvious, that David needed better direction, without the condescending tone.
   
   In the end, I'm definitely glad that I read the book, but I find the author distasteful. I would have preferred to have read the book from someone who left less of their own personality stamped on the story. I would definitely like to know what David is doing now. He should start a blog.



2. I found this book to be an enjoyable quick read. The science was well explained for those who don't know about nuclear physics and chemistry. There was a good progression of the story with interruptions that you wanted to read to get the background science information on what exactly David was doing. I think everyone should read this book to get a realistic view of how people can have an influence on one life. I will digress a great deal if I start to point out the many life lessons packed into this book so I'll just leave with a recommendation. Read not to get a balanced viewpoint for we all have our slants; read to get another viewpoint and figure out what you are going to do with that new perspective.



3. There's something not quite serious about The Radioactive Boy Scout. The book jacket has a cartoonish design and each page has a little atomic symbol by the page number. It's a small book, almost like a children's reader. It seemed to me as if it would be a quick, fun read.
   Well, it was quick, all right. Author Ken Silverstein originally wrote this as an article for Harper's Magazine, according to the blurb. The article has been padded with several chapters on nuclear power, chemistry, and the history of the Boy Scouts. But The Radioactive Boy Scout is hardly a cartoon or a fun little story.
   
   Although this is a story about how one teenager nearly built a nuclear reactor in his back yard, Silverstein wants us to know it is more than that. He emphasizes how David Hahn, the teenager, was neglected by his parents and not taken seriously by his teachers. If only someone had taken the time to take this boy under his wing, perhaps a near-disaster could have been averted. Certainly the fact that there was no disaster takes the edge off the story, but we already know what can happen when teenagers don't get the attention they need.
   
   I enjoyed the main story as well as the chapters on science and the Boy Scouts. Silverstein describes how radium-based products were sold in the early 20th century as tonics, lotions, and even suppositories, to improve one's health. He recalls filmstrips (remember?) and pamphlets that cheerfully told us to "duck and cover" in the event of a nuclear explosion. He uses a hilarious passage from P.G. Wodehouse to illustrate a common view of the Boy Scouts in their early days.
   
   Although I share most of Silverstein's opinions on federal government, the nuclear power industry, the Boy Scouts, and inattentive parents, I think the story would have been more effective if he had left his editorial comments out. Describing David's father as "pathologically oblivious" is unnecessary. True, but unnecessary.



4. I was David's scoutmaster when he was preparing for his Eagle Scout Board of Review. I was to contact five registered adult Scout leaders, who would comprise the Board. One prospective adult told me he could not sit on the Board, because "something happened".
   
   I learned that David and some friends were stopped by the cavaliering Clinton Township (Michigan) Police, who were randomly stopping teens and searching their cars for stolen tires.
   
   David was not allowed to keep his experiments in his stepmother's home, so he kept everything in his car trunk. The cops found no tires, but saw his stuff and overreacted.
   
   Days later, David's father phoned and said that David would no longer pursue the Eagle Scout rank.
   
   A month or so later, a man claiming to be a reporter phoned my home, wanting to do a telephone interview about David. After a few moments, I refused. There was something negative about the line of questioning.
   
   As a Scout, David was always clean-cut, polite, and well-liked by the other boys. My take is that David had the scientific curiosity of a Tesla or Edison; not of an evil prankster.
   
   David's father, like so many divorced and re-married men, walked a tightrope between caring for his son and appeasing a new bride.
   
   As for Mr. Silverstein, he should keep his story factual, and keep his opinions about Scouting to the editorial pages.



5. This is an excellent non-fiction quick read at just under 200 pages. It is a true story about a teenager, David Hahn, who ventured to build a nuclear breeder reactor with little protection from radioactivity. He used a potting shed as a laboratory and a few old college textbooks from his dad for knowledge on radioactive materials. David became increasingly secluded at school as he continued to experiment with dangerous chemistry. His grades dropped, and no one believed he could do anything to raise eyebrows. He ignored laws and cautions, obtaining many radioactive materials like beryllium, radium, polonium (210!), and americium to recreate the Curie couple's feats. He succeeded in creating a nuclear reactor but could not stop the increasing radioactivity, resulting in catastrophe. Finally, the federal government had to dismantle his reactor, as it was a great danger to people who lived near David.
   
   I think this book is a worthy read. It is a fascinating story with great description. The author, Ken Silverstein, was very good at highlighting facts and things that happened in David's life that were related to his inspiration of building a nuclear reactor. However, I think Silverstein put a little too much history of atomic energy into the book. He is also slightly biased against nuclear power.
   
   Overall, I think this book could have been written better, but still deserves a thumb up.

5 comments about Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond.

1. I highly recommend this book to all the poor men who already believe today that APOLLO is a whole fake
   KRANZ tell the truth it is obvious when you read him



2. While I confess to being a lifelong space buff, this book is the first of many memoirs I have had the pleasure of reading from the actual men and women who participated in one of the greatest adventures in human history. I read it nonstop from the moment I brought it home, and have reread many sections of it numerous times. I believe it is a useful historical record of the golden era of the space program, but also holds many lessons for those who find themselves in formal or de facto positions of technical leadership in all types of organizations - churches, consulting firms, technical contractors, manufacturers, and probably many others with which I am not personally familiar. Thank you Mr. Kranz for all you have shared!



3. My teenage interest in rocketry, launching about 1000 tiny rockets in all, my dreams of extraterrestrial voyages from reading science fiction, and being involved in real countdowns for liquid propellant rocket motors in the MIT Rocket Research Society all came back from reading this book. This is the perfect follow-on to Chris Kraft's "Flight: My Life in Mission Control" which came out a year later. Both are excellent. Kraft and Kranz were the guys we saw most of on TV during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Programs -- more than could be seen of any single astronaut.
   
   The first major Flight Directors of Mission Control of NASA were much more than masters of ceremonies. They had to make decisions on continuing or aborting or modifying missions, and any decision could have led to deaths. Because of the short times in which some decisions had to be made, Kraft (yes, Kraft) wrote the job description for his own position as Flight Director that said he had the final say, knowing that a mistake would be the end of his career at NASA, but also knowing that delayed decisions could kill the astronauts or the program. This necessitated building a team of specialists for each of the many aspects of the missions (communications, computing, engine status, crew status, etc., etc.) and trusting their decisions.
   
   Kranz was deeply affected by the deaths of three astronauts by fire on the ground in the Apollo 1 capsule. He was point man in the Apollo 13 explosion (as in the movie), and safe return to Earth of 3 astronauts. The details of how thorough simulations of missions were was a revelation to me. It all paid off, because almost no missions ran without failures. On-board computers were too slow or had too little memory, thrusters failed to turn off, all kinds of failure indicators would give false readings, hatches or seals would leak.
   
   Much that was kept from the public during the missions came out. The enthusiasm for the projects was incredibly high among the early birds in NASA, including the first administrators, who had to fight often for continuation of funding, especially after the USSR lost momentum, even to get the first mission to the moon. NASA pay was low, so the committment of so many on the team was not financial. The cooperation of contractors, notwithstanding some lapses in quality, was excellent, and included turning over copies of engineering drawings of all parts of a capsule or component. The willingness to take risks by NASA personnel and others during the Moon progrtam is awe-inspring, especially compared with today's timidity. Fom p383: "Lacking a clear goal, the team that placed an American on the Moon, NASA, has become just another federal bureaucracy beset by competing agendas, and unable to establish discipline within its structure. Although NASA has an amazing array of technology and the most talented workforce in history, it lacks top-level vision."
   
   Kranz was aware that he was making history. While he was steady and decisive (like Kraft) while on duty, Kranz revealed his extreme emotions at many points. While you should read books by astronauts, such as "Off the Planet" by Jerry M. Linenger, 2000, and "Last Man on the Moon" by Gene Cernan, the best overview for me has been through the eyes of the Flight Directors.



4. Gene's memories from the first halting attempts to launch rockets into space through the successfull Apollo moon program paint vivid pictures of what happened inside the space agency on a non-technical level in building the space program. Good review of challenging and motivating people to envision the what-if and do it step by step. Small references to lack of vision in senior leadership of space program after the Kennedy moon goal was achieved.



5. Gene Kranz does an amazing job of showing what people can do if they have the right leadership, teamwork, commitment and passion.
   
   The book allows us to see Kranz's perspective as flight controller, (and later flight director) during his tenure on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs and beyond.
   
   From the tremendous successes, to the gut wrenching failures, to the heroism, to the practical jokes, this book has it all. Gene Kranz was a key player in helping to create a culture of Tough and Competent flight controllers who had discipline and morale. They knew the true meaning of teamwork.
   
   One of the stories that impressed me most was after the devastating tragedy of the Apollo 1. A fire on the pad killed Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffe while they were training in the capsule. Afterwards Kranz got in front of his flight controllers and said:
   
   "Spaceflight will never tolerate carelessness, incapacity, and neglect. Somewhere, somehow, we screwed up. It could have been the design, build, or test. Whatever it was we should have caught it."
   
   Kranz and his people (as well as everyone else on the space program) took responsibility for their actions and went on to amazing successes. We crawled out the cradle of this home we call earth and explored another world. Twelve men in all walked on the moon. Also, three astronauts were brought back home safely from the brink of disaster in Apollo 13. We had truly gone where no man had gone before.
   
   These were human beings, and they are the best of the best. Not an Astronaut was lost during any of the following Apollo missions. The tragedy on the pad drove the commitment of everyone on the space program to an entirely new level. As a matter of fact, not a man was lost once they left earth on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
   
   Gene Kranz sums up how he gained his skills to be a top flight director when he said:
   
   "The flight director's ultimate training comes at the console, working real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions."
   
   This book belongs on any bookshelf, but not to be looked at, but to be read and understood. We all have the makings of greatness, we just have to take responsibility for our actions and do the very best we know how. What other amazing things can we accomplish as a species if we have the right leadership, teamwork, commitment, and passion?
   
   The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

5 comments about Isaac Newton.

1. Most of the reviews of this book seem to be reviews of Newton, not the book. To be sure, Newton is one of the most influential scientists who ever lived, but that is not the point. Rather, the point is how good is this book? I liked the book, but not as much as I had hoped to. I found the book to be somewhat flat and un-exciting, the same impression it gives of Newton's life. There are areas of Newton's life that could have been presented more dramatically, most specifically his conflict with Robert Hooke. The author paints Hooke as one of those people who claim to have done everything before anyone else. In this book, he is depicted as a blowhard, but in other accounts his claims are given much more weight. (For instance, see "The Scientists" by John Gribbin.) Another point of contention is exactly how indispensable was Newton. Had he not lived, how long would it have taken for others to discover what he did? Being a biography of Newton, it is not surprising that he is painted as being indispensable. Again, this is a point of contention, not hinted at in this book. Much of what Newton did was also done by others (calculus was developed at the same time by Leibniz and it is his version that we use today, not Newton's). Newton could not have formulated gravity without the work of Kepler, Galileo, and Descartes. Gribbin believes that within a decade of Newton's death others could have used this same background to develop "Newton's laws". The point is not whether Gleick or Gribbin is right, but that Gleick does not even acknowledge that this controversy exists.
   
   All in all, the book lays out the scope of Newton's life (including the fact that he spent much of the latter part of his life as an alchemist), but in a rather unexciting manner. The important areas of controversy, which aim to evaluate Newton's position in the pantheon of great scientists, are not even broached. I think that such a discussion would have enriched the book and broadened the outlook of the reader, so that Newton would not be just "the man", but rather a man among many.



2. The shape of the world we live in has been mostly determined by a few hundred people. Newton is one of those. This is a concise, readable, entertaining bio of one of history's really great thinkers. Anyone who uses gravity should read it.



3. I really wish I had liked this book, but I didn't.
   First thing that I noticed is the small volume, I had just read IKE's bio by Ambrose and in comparison this book seemed more like a brochure than an inclusive biographical work.
   What I hated the most was the style. Too pompous for my taste, the author gets in lengthy descriptions on the period and the landscape that surrounded Newton while only giving Isaac himself a mere sentence here and there. I think the author was trying to appeal to a public that doesn't know who Newton was and did, and therefore finds it appropriate to remind us, on multiple occasions that 'yes, Newton is the one that invented calculus and before him there was darkness'. I gave the book away to somebody that could appreciate it, hopefully. Fortunately now I know not to buy "Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman" by the same author, I would have been much more upset to read it instead of this book since I've been a Feynman fan for years.
   Numerous repetition in the descriptions of the era and in the contributions on Newton, I could not force myself to keep on reading. I do not consider this book a serious read, not on the subject Isaac Newton anyway.



4. This book is comprehensive in addressing the themes of Newton's life, though the introversion of the subject limits the detail which the author could provide. More simply stated, this book is well versed and written, so enjoy!



5. How can you sum up the life of Newton in roughly 190 pages. This is nothing but a pamphlet of one of the greatest lives of discovery the world has ever known. If your IQ is below 130 and you are looking for good reading go for it, but if you need meat and deeper substance about Newton, this is not where you look.

2 comments about Along Came Galileo.

1. This book was a fun and informative read. The author, Jeanne Bendick, included much about the times and way of life. She clearly explains and illustrates the thoughts of the day about the universe as well as the differences between the thinking of the ancient Greeks and Galileo, who did not blindly accept the ancient teachings.

   The middle to upper elementary student will gain insight into science, other famous astronomers/scientists from that era, geography, and history through this book. Each chapter concludes with a quote from Galileo that is perfect for copy work.




2. This excellent biography of Galileo effectively relates the cultural view toward science at the time. While the church then had staunchly supported preconceived notions regarding astronomy (despite Biblical references that did not concur with those thoughts), Galileo persevered in pursuing truth based on factual observations. Galileo was a role model for our present youth to continue to test scientific observations and draw conclusions based upon factual data rather than the reputation and popularity of other scientists and their views, however long-standing those theories may have existed.

2 comments about La última lección + DVD.

1. La historia de Randy Pausch es tan conmovedora que me hizo cambiar la vida. Ahora disfruto mucho mas cada momento con mi familia y en mi trabajo. El Secreto te da ideas, pero Randy los vive en carne propia. Y el libro viene con el DVD de su presentacion!! Es increible. Simplemente, increible.



2. Que libro tan impactante y tan importante! Y el DVD es un extra inesperado. No se que haria si me dijeran que solo tenia unos meses para vivir. La historia de Randy es algo inolvidable. Recomiendo que todos lo lean y aprendan de su vida.

5 comments about Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman.

1. Richard Feynman, the eccnetric Nobel willing physicicsts, has written two annecdote-driven autobiographies, "Surely You're Joking" and "What do you care what other people think?" Gleik's book, Genius, picks up where they left off, filling in the holes about Feynman's extended background, contributions to physics, and importance above and beyond the curious stories.
   
   This is great for anyone interested in the man behind the science, though clearly not intended as a deep science text. Doesn't replace the autobiographical books, but certainly complements them.



2. If you love Dr.Feynman and physics, you will love this book too. Impeccably written it charts out four phases in his life,from birth, early education, Los Alamos and the final struggle with cancer which apparently had its origins in the Manhattan project owing to prolonged exposure to radiation. Woven into the body of the text is the same light heartedness and banter that so characterized his life and work but brings home the rampant brilliance of this man in all its profundity. His uncanny sense of bringing the truth, far removed from the official verbose so much in evidence when he was a member of the commission that probed the Challenger disaster, is the recurring theme throughout the book. Gleick illustrates that beyond the free sprit that seems to stick out, an intensely personal side shows up as his tribulations when wife Arlene battled tuberculosis and he frantically worked at Los Alamos .The last few sections are poignant, when a cancer struck Dr.Feynman realizes that his hopes of visiting an exotic but secluded Soviet territory Tuva was fast vanishing, caught in the foliage of government bureaucracy, he so detested; the visa did arrive but by then it was a little too late. Even in the final moment his spirit shines through; his last words being, "I would hate to die twice, it's so boring", as the end came at 10:34 pm, 15th of Feb, 1988 at the UCLA medical college. James Gleick has composed a wonderful book of one of the most inscrutable characters of the world of physics. Surely worth reading!!



3. I had encountered Richard Feynman's name many times in popular science books covering quantam mechanics and particle physics. So I was intrigued when I saw his biography. If you're interested in the history of quantum mechanics, The Bomb, and the personalities driving modern physics from the 1930's through the 1960's, you will love this book. Gleick is a competent writer, but he gets a bit tedious when he strays from the primary subject of his book (Feynman) into self-indulgent philosophical detours like pondering society's definition of "genius". Also, if you are interested in quirky anectdotes about Feynman's life, you are better off buying Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) or Don't You Have Time to Think, on which Gleick seems to rely heavily.



4. Richard Feynman was one of those individuals that appear on the scene and like the stars, burn bright for a short time before flickering out. In Feynman's case it is the story of a one-of-a-kind, an iconoclast who broke all the rules and relished in his bad boy reputation. He was a rampant womanizer, someone who liked to have fun but mroe than anything he was a man possessed by a brain and work ethic that causes one to gasp.
   
   Reading the book, one discovers that it was not just his thought experiments or math skills or polymath catholicism of knowledge that impressed. All of these (or even one of these) would have have been exceptional but it was the ferocious speed of thought and the range of ideas that spewed forth. Indeed, even he admits he was not always right but like a bubbling cauldron, the conjectures and propositions kept rising to the top.
   
   The writing hit just the right balance between necessary detail and a layman's attempt to grasp his latest scheme. This is not an easy read for someone not aware of scientific advances or cognizant of recent theories in quantum mechanics. Yet - and this is what I find so distinctive - he managed to break down the most frightenting complexity to smaller problems that could be solved. Despite his abhorance of philosophy, art, music - the liberal arts that have dominated over hard science - his finding had deep philosophical conotations - cause and effect, time, predictability, chaos and order. He hated pretense (the "new" math), rote memorization, a single methodology and any kind of fuzzy thinking. His brilliant mind raced ahead of his speech as he thought of newer and better ways to arrive at solutions.
   
   Like Einstien, he engaged in thought experiments. Einstein rode a beam of light; Feynman inhabited an electron or haydron or photon or meson or any of the innumercable sub-level particles. Like Einstein his work ethic was legendary and he was held in awe by those who knew him best. Unlike Einstein, his formulas were too esoteric for appreciation by the general public, no easy e=mc2. But thankfully he differed from Eingstein in another respect - Feynman remained scientifically creative until the end. He reveled in his allure - to women and men - yet he found peace in domesticity at last. In some ways it is almost impossible to approach such genius - all we can do is follow the path of all probabilities (lol).



5. Biography and popular science description of Feynman's work tells the personal story of one of modern physics most unique minds. Feynman won a Nobel Prize in the field of quantum physics in 1965, and was a leading thinker in the Los Alamos project. Gleick does a decent job of making the physics understandable at a popular level.
   
   Never a manager or administrator of the "big science' that 20th century physics created in the war and post-war periods, Feynman stuck to his theoretical roots.
   
   He was a bundle of contradictions:
   
   He seldom read in the literature, reading only enough of books and papers to understand the problem, then resolving it in his own way, often quicker and better than others.
   
   He was a devoted husband to his tubercular first wife, then a womanizing scoundrel afterwards.
   
   He was a professor who disliked teaching, a theorist who thought in concrete analogies, a middle-class Jewish boy from Long Island who was only admitted to anti-semitic Ivy League institutions (with their shameful quotas in the pre-war period) because of the brilliance of his mind at that early stage, who became the highest-paid professor at CalTech during the post-war years.
   
   He was even called by many who knew him and worked with him by the label "Genius". Gleick spends some time talking about what constitutes genius and how to identify it. I believe Feynman defines his genius in this statement: "A theorist who can juggle different theories in his mind has a creative advantage, Feynman argued, when it comes time to change the theories." (p. 368) Feynman's genius consisted of his ability to envision complex physical analogies, and quickly compute complicated formulas from the many in his memory.
   
   An inveterate story teller and shaper of his own legacy, he memorized and crafted stories and anecdotes to mold his image. As Gleick recounts one story about the difference between colleague Murray Gell-Mann and Feynman: "Murray makes sure you know what an extraordinary person he is, they would say, while Dick is not a person at all but a more advanced life form pretending to be human to spare your feelings." That's genius.
   
   This makes a good companion to Richard Rhodes "Making of the Atomic Bomb" which covers the Los Alamos period from a broader perspective.

No comments about Riding the Waves: A Life in Sound, Science, and Industry.

No comments about Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists Speak Out.

5 comments about Making the Mummies Dance : Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

1. This treasure was passed to me by a gallery owner who said I would love it and she was right. Hoving gives you just the right amount of background to ensnare you in Art politics and society without overdoing it and boring the reader who isn't that into art. The book is peppered with anecdotes about the glitterati of the New York and international art/high society scene that ends up having the tone of Gore Vidal but on a subject he probably would never touch.



2. This lively look at the life and work of a director of a world-class art museum not only educates and entertains, it shocks. The mummies do, indeed, dance as Thomas Hoving takes on the Park Service to expand the museum, wiggles around UNESCO and fights a host of governments for his favorite works of art, plays one collection against another, trades, deals and bluffs his way toward making the Metropolitan Museum of Art what it is today.

   Hoving has a steam-roller personality, the energy of nuclear fission and no small amount of self-confidence. His educational background -- Princeton and an archeological expedition or two in Europe -- isn't as impressive as you'd expect, but he makes up any shortcomings with old-fashioned chutzpah.

   After some experience in minor jobs and a city job with the Parks Department, he's told he may be selected as director of the Metropolitan so he looks the place over and makes some notes: "The museum needs reform. Sprucing up. Dynamics. Electricity. The place is moribund. Gray. It's dying. The morale of staff is low. The energy seems to have vanished. You've been missing all the fine exhibits...."

   This book shows how MOMA gets from where it was then to what it is now -- the politics, infighting, backbiting, sneaking, smuggling and downright stealing it takes to make a museum one of the finest in the world. It's also a fairly realistic look at the glittering personalities and the haute monde of the New York City of a few decades ago.

   This is a rousing tale that should hold the interest of any reader, art lover or no. Never mind that Hoving doesn't hesitate to toot his own horn. This is, after all, his book. Even taking the stories with a massive grain of salt, they're always riveting and vastly amusing. No one will ever say of Thomas Hoving that he has no opinion on the people and the issues of the art world or that he hesitates to express them.

   I can't imagine anyone not being fascinated by this marvelous picture of the fabulous and often sham world of art museums and the people who support them and run them.




3. This is a refreshing book, about the author's personal quest to transform the Metropolitan Museum of Art of N.Y., during his tenure as director of the museum (1967-1977).
   When Hoving arrived as Director, he assessed the Met as a disorganized institution, a collection of collections, located in a mixture of buildings and architectures that gave "the impression of something worse than incomplete; it seemed forgotten and forlorn...." At the time Hoving was offered the post, he was commissioner of Parks, under the tenure of Mayor John Lindsay, whose mayoral campaign the author had joined with a leave of absence from... the Met, where, after receiving his Ph.D. in Art from Princeton University, he went from assistant curator to curator of the Medieval Department and the Cloisters. And indeed, it was Lindsay, when told the news about the directorship, who said: "...have you considered the boredom? Seems to me the place is dead. But, Hoving, you'll make the mummies dance." Hence the title of the book.
   The story is a fascinating, at times egotistical and gossipy account of what it took to revolutionize an institution like the Met. From the seduction of the patrons and trustees, such as Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Annenberg, Brooke Astor, Robert Lehman, to the development of a network of experts, smugglers and famous collectors, Hoving takes us on a journey that reveals a lot about the inner workings of power, expertise and glamour, in the art world.
   At the end, we are led to believe Hoving's final insight about his tenure:
   "With the creative energy of the Trustees who had been on my side and the stuff who supported me, the most sweeping revolution in the history of art museums had taken place. The Met, once an elitist, stiff, gray, and slightly moribund entity, came alive. THE MUMMIES DID DANCE......"



4. This is a great book for reading and as a resource guide book. Makes you feel like your there



5. This book appeals to a select audience. Those who enjoy reading about the great chase for the treasures of the world. Treasures that wars have been fought over. Those who enjoy reading about the super-rich and their foibles. Those who enjoy reading about the intrigues and back stabbings in elite organizations (this book makes The Apprentice look like a pillow fight). And finally those who enjoy reading about a man's all consuming ambition to succeed and yet through it all remain passionate about great art. If any of the above is your cub of tea then you are going to love this. I absolutely recommend his later book 'False Impressions'. And yes, the author spares no punches in his analysis of alot of famous people.