The Strangest Man
The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
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Narrated by:
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B. J. Harrison
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By:
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Graham Farmelo
About this listen
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
One of Einstein's most admired colleagues, Dirac was in 1933 the youngest theoretician ever to win the Nobel Prize in physics. Dirac's personality is legendary. He was an extraordinarily reserved loner, relentlessly literal-minded, and appeared to have no empathy with most people. Yet he was a family man and was intensely loyal to his friends. His tastes in the arts ranged from Beethoven to Cher, from Rembrandt to Mickey Mouse.
Based on previously undiscovered archives, The Strangest Man reveals the many facets of Dirac's brilliantly original mind. A compelling human story, The Strangest Man also depicts a spectacularly exciting era in scientific history.
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Book about nothing
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The Day We Found the Universe
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- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
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From one of our most acclaimed science writers: a dramatic narrative of the discovery of the true nature and startling size of the universe, delving back past the moment of revelation to trace the decades of work--by a select group of scientists--that made it possible.
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Worth the Effort
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A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
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Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
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Uncertainty
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- By: David Lindley
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
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Werner Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle" challenged centuries of scientific understanding, placed him in direct opposition to Albert Einstein, and put Niels Bohr in the middle of one of the most heated debates in scientific history. Heisenberg's theorem stated that there were physical limits to what we could know about sub-atomic particles; this "uncertainty" would have shocking implications.
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fascinating insight into the real drama of physics
- By Ryan on 09-07-10
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Churchill's Bomb
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- By: Graham Farmelo
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As award-winning biographer and science writer Graham Farmelo describes in Churchill's Bomb, the British set out to investigate the possibility of building nuclear weapons before their American colleagues. But when scientists in Britain first discovered a way to build an atomic bomb, Prime Minister Winston Churchill did not make the most of his country's lead and was slow to realize the bomb's strategic implications.
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Loved it!! This was great.
- By MAC24211 on 09-08-21
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Great Scientists and Their Discoveries
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Nine remarkable men produced inventions that changed the world. The printing press, the telephone, powered flight, recording and others have made the modern world what it is. But who were the men who had these ideas and made reality of them? As David Angus shows, they were very different - quiet, boisterous, confident, withdrawn - but all had a moment of vision allied to single-minded determination to battle through numerous prototypes and produced something that really worked. This is a fascinating account for younger listeners.
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What Is Real?
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Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless. A mishmash of solipsism and poor reasoning, Copenhagen endured, as Bohr's students vigorously protected his legacy, and the physics community favored practical experiments over philosophical arguments.
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Good, "light" "read"... potential caveat below...
- By James S. on 03-31-18
By: Adam Becker
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Tuxedo Park
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In the late 1930s, legendary financier, philanthropist, and society figure Alfred Lee Loomis gathered the most visionary scientific minds of the 20th century at his state-of-the-art laboratory in Tuxedo Park, New York. He established a top-secret defense laboratory at MIT and personally bankrolled pioneering research into new, high-powered radar detection systems that helped defeat the German Air Force and U-boats. With Ernest Lawrence, he pushed Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fund research in nuclear fission, which led to the development of the atomic bomb.
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Fantastic book, weak technical execution
- By Paul on 10-13-18
By: Jennet Conant
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The Infinity Puzzle
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The second half of the 20th century witnessed a scientific gold rush as physicists raced to chart the inner workings of the atom. The stakes were high, the questions were big, and there were Nobel Prizes and everlasting glory to be won. Many mysteries of the atom came unraveled, but one remained intractable-what Frank Close calls the "Infinity Puzzle."
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Succinct exposition
- By Gary on 06-26-12
By: Frank Close
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Significant Figures
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In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.
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Beware
- By Anton Kurtz on 12-08-18
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
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Here for the first time, in rich human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than 25 years.
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Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
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Two of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these two men - separated in age by 40 years - discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time.
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What listeners say about The Strangest Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean
- 03-01-14
Paul Dirac won 1933 Nobel Prize in physics
This is one of the best books in terms of detail and insight into the brilliant character of Paul Dirac 1902-1984. Graham Farmelo, a British Physicist, has obviously done in-depth research, and I understand he had access to many of Dirac’s personal papers. The book won the 2009 Costa book award. The book is less a scientific biography than other books on Dirac, it emphasizes more the development of Dirac’s personality and the story of his relationship with his relations and colleagues. I learned a lot about Dirac, including his work on the atomic bomb during World War II. Dirac is responsible for several of the great breakthrough in 20th century physics and mathematics. He found the fundamental insight into quantum mechanics and remains the basic understanding even today. His textbook on Quantum Mechanics remains a rigorously clear explanation of the fundamental idea of quantum theory. He also developed the Dirac equation which is the basis of particle physics. He is known for developing quantum field theory, quantum electrodynamics and the understanding the role of magnetic monopoles in electromagnetism. Dirac was the youngest theoretician to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics (1933). He also won the Max Planck Medal and the Copley Medal. He was the Lucasian Professor of mathematics at Cambridge University. The chair is now held by Stephen Hawking. Dirac’s work was so advanced we are only just beginning to prove and use his work. B. J. Harrison did an excellent job narrating this long book.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Michael
- 02-01-10
As good as a Dirac biography could be :-)
Well written and particularly well read. Enjoyable and interesting if you like the history of physics. If the history of physics is not already your thing, you may not find this an exciting volume. I really enjoyed it but would not likely listen again.
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5 people found this helpful
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- gimenez
- 08-04-19
Insanely good
What a masterful writer Mr. Farmelo is! Enough said.
Listen to it. It is very long but you will laugh, you will get upset, you will not believe how removed from his environment he could become and you will miss him once he is gone. Good-bye Mr. Dirac.
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- Ed
- 03-17-13
Wonderful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This is a comprehensive discussion of the life and works of the great man, Paul Dirac. The author does an excellent job at painting a picture, and I could see, in my mind's eye, every scene.
The narrator is engaging, and I was hooked on every word. I only wish I could find another biography on a physicist of this era, done this well.
Bravo, I only depressed its over.
What did you like best about this story?
I felt like I was there as these events took place. Very engaging.
Any additional comments?
If you're looking to learn field theory, or relativistic quantum mechanics, well then this is not for you. If you want to spend some time learning about one of physics most interesting characters, and empathize with him...then enjoy.
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- Andrew Snyder
- 07-24-18
Full of Interesting Facts, Presented Well
Dirac was a very brilliant physicist and a unique individual, and his life’s story is presented in an engaging and entertaining manner. The history and early development of quantum mechanics, and the lives and personalities of Dirac and his cohort who founded it, are described in great detail. Highly recommended to those interested in Dirac, his contributions to physics, and to the formalization of quantum mechanics following Werner Heisenberg’s groundbreaking paper of 1925.
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Story
- Mike Rathman
- 11-05-22
Great book
1st rate book. Historically interesting and significant.
Great narration, production, everything was perfect.
Highly recommended!
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- jeffrey
- 09-21-22
amazing
It is always sad to hear about how some people who make some of the greatest contributions to science are forgotten. What a wonderful story about a brilliant man who had to live in a world he probably didn't fully understand.
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Overall
- John J. Emerson
- 06-12-10
Good book, agree with others regarding narration
I agree with several other reviews - enjoyed this listen since the material was strong enough, held my interest, despite the poor narration. Someone, please instruct the narrator regarding pronunciation of the word "experiment". Since listening, the word "expirimint" is still ringing in my ears.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Collin
- 07-28-10
Like a Novel
I felt like I was reading an adventure novel rather than a biography. The book is well written and flows nicely, packed with good physics, and fun characterization.
The naration was great too.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Minnesota Loves Brazil
- 05-10-10
Great book, dreadfully read
Farmelo provides exceptionally clear explanations of some very difficult science as well as a fascinating portrait of Dirac the man set in a vivid historical time. A testament to the book that it survives the affected reader, who repeatedly misplaces emphasis in a sentence, uses a jarring, artificial diction, and emotes as if he were reading a romance novel.
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1 person found this helpful