Six Easy Pieces: The Fundamentals of Physics ExplainedSix Easy Pieces: The Fundamentals of Physics Explained
What it's about
In the early 1960s, Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, taught the introductory physics course at Caltech, and his lectures became one of the most famous physics textbooks ever. This short book collects six of the most accessible: on atoms, on the basic laws of physics, on how physics relates to other sciences, on the conservation of energy, on gravity, and on the strange behavior of the quantum world.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Modern Library's list of the best nonfiction ever written. Feynman was one of the greatest teachers in history, and his excitement about physics comes through on every page.
You'll love it if you liked
The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, The Dragons of Eden: Speculations of the Evolution of Human Intelligence or The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Good to know
It uses some equations, but very little math is required. The audio recordings of the original lectures are wonderful.
By the numbers
- Readers80 out of 100 · counts 40%+37
- Critics59 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+21
- Bestseller13 out of 100 · counts 14%+2
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
On the Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction list. 4.20★ from 32K Goodreads ratings.
Where it ranks
- #21 of the 87 science and ideas books we rank
- #117 of the 666 modern books we rank
- #269 of the 1,404 books we rank
On the lists
- Modern Library 100 Best Nonfiction
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking
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