Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman
by James Gleick
I finally got around to reading this after having sit in my list for a few years. James Gleick is just sensational at telling very complicated stories and ideas in reasonably graspable terms. This is a story of the life of Richarf Feynman -- one of the most notable physicists of the 20th century. There are a lot of lessons here: don't let others tell you how to think about solving problems, avoid rote learning, question common wisdom... But also, Feynman is not a likeable character at all -- he seems filled with himself and his differences and often did things differently just for the sake of it. He didn't fit in society very well and if he wasn't a genius he likely would have had zero friends or acquaintances....
I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
by Jackie Robinson & Alfred Duckett
A very open autiobiography about the life of the first black man in major
league baseball. Though I have long admired his courage I knew very
little
about him. Perhaps most exciting is his passion for making a
difference thru his
action during his baseball career and how he used
his fame to affect the world
after his career ended in baseball. Among
the most moving accounts is that of
his son Jackie who had extreme
difficulties in life, turned his life around
dramatically and then
tragically died.... I am thankful that my son Eamon
recommended this
book.
Isaac Newton
by James Gleick
This was a fast easy read. Newton spent large chunks of time in essentially isolation. It is easy consider that his isolation facilitated non-traditional thinking in very much the same way that the Wright Brothers spent winters thinking and working as a pair teamed in isolation in Dayton. We find that he was not well liked - had nearly no friends to speak of. He left no will from his rather large personal estate which was generated thru his role in operating the mint and getting a slice of all printed money! Good deal if you can get it.