Many appreciate Richard P. Feynman’s efforts to twentieth-century physics, but few realize how involved he was using the globe around him-how deeply and thoughtfully he regarded the religious, politics, and social issues of his day. In this assortment of lectures that Richard Feynman originally gave in 1963, unpublished during his life time, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist discusses several mega queries of science. What is the type of the strain between technology and religious beliefs? Why does doubt play such an essential role in the medical imagination? Is certainly this a really scientific age group? What clarifies our universal fascination with flying saucers, faith curing, and telepathy?

Marked by Feynman’s characteristic combination of rationality and humor, these lectures offer an close glimpse at the person behind the legend. In the beginning of his final lecture he says, “I dedicate this lecture to displaying what absurd conclusions and rare statements such a guy as myself could make.” Rare, perhaps, and irreverent, sure. But absurd? Not close.

This is quintessential Feynman-reflective, amusing, and ever enlightening.