Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is an edited collection of reminiscences by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. It details everything from his forays into hypnotism to his fascination with safe-cracking and his fondness for topless bars. The book also approaches more serious topics, such as the development of the atomic bomb and the death of Feynman's first wife Arline Greenbaum from tuberculosis.
The anecdotes were edited from taped conversations that Feynman had with his close friend and drumming partner, Ralph Leighton. Its surprise success led to a sequel entitled What Do You Care What Other People Think?, also taken from Leighton's taped conversations. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! sold more than 500,000 copies.
