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telegraph.co.uk

Graham Farmelo

The Strangest Man

Paul Dirac was the archetypal introverted scientist, well known for his monosyllablic replies to questions. In The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius Graham Farmelo tells his story.

I did find the first few chapters of the book, on Dirac's early life, rather hard going, and I began to wonder whether there was going to be enough of interest to say about Dirac to fill a 500 page book. Fortunately there was. As Dirac climbed the academic ladder his genius became obvious, and he was soon working at the forefront of theoretical quantum theory. Farmelo deals well with this aspect of Dirac's life, giving a description of the work he was doing without going into the highly mathematical details. We hear how the Dirac equation predicted the existence of antimatter, but there was a tendency to think that this was just an artifact of the mathematics.

You might think that Dirac spent every waking hour in his study, but in fact he went along with the idea that four hours a day was about as much time anyone could spend on such advanced mathematics, and he had plenty of time for other interests, as well as for travelling to meet his colleagues.

Dirac didn't seem the marrying type but he did marry and raise a family. As he grew older he began to lose touch with the forefront of quantum theory - although he did work on a forerunner of String Theory. I felt that the way that Dirac's ideas fitted in to the rest of physics is an important part of the book - it's worth reading for this glimpse into the development of 20th century physics, as well as to find out about the life of this unique character.

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Hardcover 539 pages
ISBN: 0571222781
Salesrank: 801418
Weight:1.94 lbs

Published: 2009 Faber & Faber

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Hardcover 539 pages
ISBN: 0571222781
Salesrank: 26833
Weight:1.94 lbs

Published: 2009 Faber and Faber

Amazon price £12.83

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Hardcover 539 pages
ISBN: 0571222781
Salesrank: 360759
Weight:1.94 lbs

Published: Faber And Faber Ltd.

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Product Description
Paul Dirac was one of the leading pioneers of the greatest revolution in 20th-century science: quantum mechanics. One of the youngest theoreticians ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics, he was also pathologically reticent, strangely literal-minded and legendarily unable to communicate or empathize. Through his greatest period of productivity, his postcards home contained only remarks about the weather. Based on a previously undiscovered archive of family papers, Graham Farmelo celebrates Dirac's massive scientific achievement while drawing a compassionate portrait of his life and work. Farmelo shows a man who, while hopelessly socially inept, could manage to love and sustain close friendship. 'The Strangest Man' is an extraordinary and moving human story, as well as a study of one of the most exciting times in scientific history.

Product Description

Paul Dirac was one of the leading pioneers of the greatest revolution in 20th-century science: quantum mechanics. One of the youngest theoreticians ever to win the Nobel Prize for Physics, he was also pathologically reticent, strangely literal-minded and legendarily unable to communicate or empathize. Through his greatest period of productivity, his postcards home contained only remarks about the weather. Based on a previously undiscovered archive of family papers, Graham Farmelo celebrates Dirac's massive scientific achievement while drawing a compassionate portrait of his life and work. Farmelo shows a man who, while hopelessly socially inept, could manage to love and sustain close friendship. 'The Strangest Man' is an extraordinary and moving human story, as well as a study of one of the most exciting times in scientific history.

Great book for physics lovers! *****
This is a biography of Dirac that illuminates the man and his accomplishments in a detailed and insightful way. In addition to providing insight into Dirac's personal life, the book actually helps the physics maven (like me) to understand some of his theoretical physics discoveries by describing the difficulties of the situation that the work was trying to resolve. Highly recommended!

Great book for physics lovers! *****

This is a biography of Dirac that illuminates the man and his accomplishments in a detailed and insightful way. In addition to providing insight into Dirac's personal life, the book actually helps the physics maven (like me) to understand some of his theoretical physics discoveries by describing the difficulties of the situation that the work was trying to resolve.

Highly recommended!

If people only spoke as little as he did *****
They'd think and probably produce more. What a grand bio of PAM Dirac! I just did not want the book to finish and was sad when it did because it is written so well. Dirac should be as popular as Heisenberg or Schrodinger or Einstein. It is possibly because his equation is more in the realm an advanced undergrad/graduate student would encounter, and as he certainly does not have to his credit a celebrity equation such as Einstein's or Schrodinger's or a celebrity law such as Heisenberg's, that renders people like Dirac and Pauli as the dark horses of theoretical physics. I was stupefied to read that he and Pauli did not get along. I was astounded to read that Bohr, Heisenberg, Landau and Pauli thought of his forays into higher, advanced forms of quantum mechanics as "erudite nonsense". Naturally we always (for those of us that know and read physics) knew of Dirac's reclusiveness and utter tight-lipped genius, we are now benefited by this supreme scientific biography. After "The man who knew infinity" in the 90's, this book will probably be the best biography to come out in the first decade of the 21st century. I had to postpone a job interview because I could not put the book down. Its that good!!!

If people only spoke as little as he did *****

They'd think and probably produce more. What a grand bio of PAM Dirac! I just did not want the book to finish and was sad when it did because it is written so well. Dirac should be as popular as Heisenberg or Schrodinger or Einstein. It is possibly because his equation is more in the realm an advanced undergrad/graduate student would encounter, and as he certainly does not have to his credit a celebrity equation such as Einstein's or Schrodinger's or a celebrity law such as Heisenberg's, that renders people like Dirac and Pauli as the dark horses of theoretical physics. I was stupefied to read that he and Pauli did not get along. I was astounded to read that Bohr, Heisenberg, Landau and Pauli thought of his forays into higher, advanced forms of quantum mechanics as "erudite nonsense". Naturally we always (for those of us that know and read physics) knew of Dirac's reclusiveness and utter tight-lipped genius, we are now benefited by this supreme scientific biography. After "The man who knew infinity" in the 90's, this book will probably be the best biography to come out in the first decade of the 21st century. I had to postpone a job interview because I could not put the book down. Its that good!!!

The Strangest Man *****
Not only is this biography an entertaining and compelling read but a lifetime of thorough research has gone into it. There can be no more vivid account of the eccentricities and genius of Paul Dirac. It also offers a portal into the social structures and lifestyles of the early twentieth century but more importantly brings the great names of quantum history together showing how they interacted not just in scientific research but in their social lives as well. The likes of Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Bohr, etc were brought to life in this wonderful narrative which would I'm sure would make enthralling reading even for those with no scientific background. Definitely in the five-star category.

The Strangest Man *****

Not only is this biography an entertaining and compelling read but a lifetime of thorough research has gone into it. There can be no more vivid account of the eccentricities and genius of Paul Dirac. It also offers a portal into the social structures and lifestyles of the early twentieth century but more importantly brings the great names of quantum history together showing how they interacted not just in scientific research but in their social lives as well. The likes of Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Bohr, etc were brought to life in this wonderful narrative which would I'm sure would make enthralling reading even for those with no scientific background. Definitely in the five-star category.

A Blind Man Sensing A Snowflake ***
My favourite anecdote anent Dirac in this book is the following: "The story begins during one of Dirac's lectures, moments after he has finished talking, when the moderator asks if anyone has any questions. Someone in the audience says, `I don't understand the equation on the top-right-hand corner of the blackboard.' Dirac says nothing. The audience shuffles nervously, but he remains silent, whiling away the time of day, looking unconcerned. The moderator, feeling obliged to break the silence, asks for a reply, whereupon Dirac says, `That was not a question, it was a comment.'" Very droll, and it gives the reader some idea of the sort of fellow whose life and work are recounted, sort of, in this book. Dirac was a Nobel Prize winning mathematical genius, contributing one of the great formulae to our understanding- inasmuch as anyone DOES understand it - of quantum mechanics, whose monosyllabic taciturnity was legendary. The great problem with the book is not the biographer's fault, but is one inherent in any popular work on men and women of mathematical genius, a fortiori Dirac, a fortiori quantum mechanics; to wit, that even professional physicists still have trouble with understanding what Dirac's work actually involved. As another astute reviewer puts it, it's like a biography of a novelist without any quotes from the novels. And, as I would put it more bluntly, Dirac, sans all the maths beyond the reach of the mere mortal reader, is simply not a very interesting person. Farmelo does an excellent job of documenting the heady milieu of the development of quantum mechanics and the principal players involved, but, again bluntly, other books do this just as well as Farmelo's does. So, what the reader is left with in the end is a somewhat tedious slog around a man whose personality remains superlatively opaque. It's all - I'm sorry to say - a jolly bore. As Dirac himself is quoted here as saying of quantum mechanics, "To draw its picture is like a blind man sensing a snowflake. One touch and it's gone." The book has its entertaining moments but, almost inevitably, any substance melts off its pages under the reader's searching gaze.

A Blind Man Sensing A Snowflake ***

My favourite anecdote anent Dirac in this book is the following:

"The story begins during one of Dirac's lectures, moments after he has finished talking, when the moderator asks if anyone has any questions. Someone in the audience says, `I don't understand the equation on the top-right-hand corner of the blackboard.' Dirac says nothing. The audience shuffles nervously, but he remains silent, whiling away the time of day, looking unconcerned. The moderator, feeling obliged to break the silence, asks for a reply, whereupon Dirac says, `That was not a question, it was a comment.'"

Very droll, and it gives the reader some idea of the sort of fellow whose life and work are recounted, sort of, in this book. Dirac was a Nobel Prize winning mathematical genius, contributing one of the great formulae to our understanding- inasmuch as anyone DOES understand it - of quantum mechanics, whose monosyllabic taciturnity was legendary. The great problem with the book is not the biographer's fault, but is one inherent in any popular work on men and women of mathematical genius, a fortiori Dirac, a fortiori quantum mechanics; to wit, that even professional physicists still have trouble with understanding what Dirac's work actually involved. As another astute reviewer puts it, it's like a biography of a novelist without any quotes from the novels. And, as I would put it more bluntly, Dirac, sans all the maths beyond the reach of the mere mortal reader, is simply not a very interesting person.

Farmelo does an excellent job of documenting the heady milieu of the development of quantum mechanics and the principal players involved, but, again bluntly, other books do this just as well as Farmelo's does.
So, what the reader is left with in the end is a somewhat tedious slog around a man whose personality remains superlatively opaque. It's all - I'm sorry to say - a jolly bore. As Dirac himself is quoted here as saying of quantum mechanics, "To draw its picture is like a blind man sensing a snowflake. One touch and it's gone."

The book has its entertaining moments but, almost inevitably, any substance melts off its pages under the reader's searching gaze.

Excellent read *****
Reading about a genius, whatever his quirks, is always enjoyable and this is no exception. It is also very well written.

Excellent read *****

Reading about a genius, whatever his quirks, is always enjoyable and this is no exception. It is also very well written.

A lonely life ? *****
Who's to know ? Dirac probably had what we now describe as an "autistic spectrum disorder", and did his father, and brother. I found Farmelo's book a rather poignant view of the life of a certainly strange man. The development of the man from baby to redundant Grand Old man is well handled. The deep mathematical complexity of Dirac's work is described well, at the level any layman who tackled " a brief history of time" will find a breeze ! Was Dirac's life as lonely as one might think ? His marriage came as a surprise to his colleagues (friends ? Did he have any, apart from Pyotr Kapitsa ?), but he recognised that it completed him as a human being - even though he remained reclusive, even at home. Put the Book of Dirac with Gleickman's life of Richard Feynman, then Feynman's own books about himself, and compare with the "man who loved only numbers" - the book about the brilliant Mathematician Paul Erdos to get an understanding of what drives brilliant and eccentric men.

A lonely life ? *****

Who's to know ? Dirac probably had what we now describe as an "autistic spectrum disorder", and did his father, and brother. I found Farmelo's book a rather poignant view of the life of a certainly strange man. The development of the man from baby to redundant Grand Old man is well handled. The deep mathematical complexity of Dirac's work is described well, at the level any layman who tackled " a brief history of time" will find a breeze !

Was Dirac's life as lonely as one might think ? His marriage came as a surprise to his colleagues (friends ? Did he have any, apart from Pyotr Kapitsa ?), but he recognised that it completed him as a human being - even though he remained reclusive, even at home.

Put the Book of Dirac with Gleickman's life of Richard Feynman, then Feynman's own books about himself, and compare with the "man who loved only numbers" - the book about the brilliant Mathematician Paul Erdos to get an understanding of what drives brilliant and eccentric men.

Good read - even for non physicists *****
Dirac was undoubtedly a genius. He was also a very difficult man and there is much behind his genius which explains him as a mathematician. His relationship with his parents, his brother and sister and his wife Manci are beautifully explained in this well written book. His personal relationships with Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger and Kapitsa are also well researched. The relationship between them as people as well as scientists is forcefully put and explains (well) how Dirac worked. I would recommend this book to anybody - you do not need a science degree (or one in rocket science - as they say) to understand it or to be able to read it. The prose and writing style also make it a very easy read. The introduction is particularly gripping. A few words, spoken in anger or at least in haste about his family, by Dirac at the end of his life are recounted and analysed. The mysterious nature of this man is thus made clear at the very start. You read on to find out what happened. An old gambit perhaps but effective. Overall this book whilst delving into Dirac the mathematician also looks at him as a man, of formidable intellect, living his life.

Good read - even for non physicists *****

Dirac was undoubtedly a genius. He was also a very difficult man and there is much behind his genius which explains him as a mathematician. His relationship with his parents, his brother and sister and his wife Manci are beautifully explained in this well written book. His personal relationships with Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger and Kapitsa are also well researched. The relationship between them as people as well as scientists is forcefully put and explains (well) how Dirac worked.

I would recommend this book to anybody - you do not need a science degree (or one in rocket science - as they say) to understand it or to be able to read it. The prose and writing style also make it a very easy read.

The introduction is particularly gripping. A few words, spoken in anger or at least in haste about his family, by Dirac at the end of his life are recounted and analysed. The mysterious nature of this man is thus made clear at the very start. You read on to find out what happened. An old gambit perhaps but effective.

Overall this book whilst delving into Dirac the mathematician also looks at him as a man, of formidable intellect, living his life.

A fascinating biography *****
This is a fascinating biography of one of the great figures of 20th century science. On the human level, it is an engrossing portrait of someone who came from a dysfunctional family and who found human relationships difficult, and gives an insight into rivalries in the scientific community. Side by side with this the book gives a clear view of some key developments in particle physics, and of Dirac's major contributions, while acknowledging where Dirac's thinking was misguided. For me, this is one of the best books to have appeared in the last few years.

A fascinating biography *****

This is a fascinating biography of one of the great figures of 20th century science. On the human level, it is an engrossing portrait of someone who came from a dysfunctional family and who found human relationships difficult, and gives an insight into rivalries in the scientific community. Side by side with this the book gives a clear view of some key developments in particle physics, and of Dirac's major contributions, while acknowledging where Dirac's thinking was misguided. For me, this is one of the best books to have appeared in the last few years.

Excellent biography - the full life and work of Paul Dirac *****
This is one of those rare biographies of a scientist that leaves the reader feeling satisfied that they have been given a flavour of both the subject's work and life. Considering that Dirac was one of the leaders of the the early development of quantum mechanics, this is some achievement. The biography covers the whole of Dirac's life, from school in Bristol through his time in Cambridge to retirement in Florida, highlighting his achievements in the early years of quantum theory and some of the challenges to his thinking in later years. The author covers his friendhsips, the (often strained) relationships with others in the physics community, and links this to his family background. The difficult subjects (death of his brother and relationship with his father) are treated with great sympathy.

Excellent biography - the full life and work of Paul Dirac *****

This is one of those rare biographies of a scientist that leaves the reader feeling satisfied that they have been given a flavour of both the subject's work and life. Considering that Dirac was one of the leaders of the the early development of quantum mechanics, this is some achievement.

The biography covers the whole of Dirac's life, from school in Bristol through his time in Cambridge to retirement in Florida, highlighting his achievements in the early years of quantum theory and some of the challenges to his thinking in later years. The author covers his friendhsips, the (often strained) relationships with others in the physics community, and links this to his family background. The difficult subjects (death of his brother and relationship with his father) are treated with great sympathy.

Standing on the shoulders of giants *****
PAM Dirac is, any physicist will likely confirm it, a giant of science, yet he is a famously obscure figure, if you ask the general public. His contemporaries (Heisenberg, Pauli, Oppenheimer to name but a few) are almost without exception better known. Yet, Farmelo agrees quite convincingly that Dirac's skills, his contribution to physics, is second perhaps only to Einstein. This superb biography successfully brings to life what is perhaps the most fertile period in scientific history, the first half of the twentieth century, when the foundations of our society were laid down and built upon. Hundreds, if not thousands of years of accumulated knowledge exploded into practical applications, of which we are now reaping the benefits, pretty much all in Dirac's lifetime. More than the biography of a single man, this is the story of science being made, day by day, block by block, of false starts, competing ideas, overlapping theories, a grail quest of sort, of this breathless race to understand this universe in which we live. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story, even fiction lovers: early twentieth century physics has an eclectic cast of fascinating characters and quite a thrilling storyline!

Standing on the shoulders of giants *****

PAM Dirac is, any physicist will likely confirm it, a giant of science, yet he is a famously obscure figure, if you ask the general public. His contemporaries (Heisenberg, Pauli, Oppenheimer to name but a few) are almost without exception better known. Yet, Farmelo agrees quite convincingly that Dirac's skills, his contribution to physics, is second perhaps only to Einstein. This superb biography successfully brings to life what is perhaps the most fertile period in scientific history, the first half of the twentieth century, when the foundations of our society were laid down and built upon. Hundreds, if not thousands of years of accumulated knowledge exploded into practical applications, of which we are now reaping the benefits, pretty much all in Dirac's lifetime. More than the biography of a single man, this is the story of science being made, day by day, block by block, of false starts, competing ideas, overlapping theories, a grail quest of sort, of this breathless race to understand this universe in which we live. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story, even fiction lovers: early twentieth century physics has an eclectic cast of fascinating characters and quite a thrilling storyline!

A Tribute to a Great Man *****
At once a superb biography and an excellent overview of twentieth century physics, the author does an outstanding job of recounting the life and times of the great theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. From Dirac's birth in 1902 to his death in 1984, the author unfolds Dirac's life from the personal, scientific, familial and social aspects. Throughout the book, he is at once objective, respectful and admiring of his subject. Each chapter covers a specific time period in Dirac's life, as indicated at the top of every page; this is often quite useful for the reader. Also, the author is quite successful in his manner of presenting the developments in twentieth century physics in sufficient clear jargon-free details such that the information is accessible to a general readership without being inaccurate. In the second last chapter, the author discusses a possible brain condition that Dirac may have had that would help explain his odd behaviour. The last chapter provides a summary of Paul Dirac's scientific legacy and the importance of his contributions to his field. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative, quite accessible and immensely captivating; the book is very difficult to put down. This is a tome that can be enjoyed by anyone who wants an accessible outline of the tremendous discoveries and accomplishments that were made in twentieth century physics, the brilliant people who made them, all centered on the life of one of its greatest contributors.

A Tribute to a Great Man *****

At once a superb biography and an excellent overview of twentieth century physics, the author does an outstanding job of recounting the life and times of the great theoretical physicist Paul Dirac. From Dirac's birth in 1902 to his death in 1984, the author unfolds Dirac's life from the personal, scientific, familial and social aspects. Throughout the book, he is at once objective, respectful and admiring of his subject. Each chapter covers a specific time period in Dirac's life, as indicated at the top of every page; this is often quite useful for the reader. Also, the author is quite successful in his manner of presenting the developments in twentieth century physics in sufficient clear jargon-free details such that the information is accessible to a general readership without being inaccurate. In the second last chapter, the author discusses a possible brain condition that Dirac may have had that would help explain his odd behaviour. The last chapter provides a summary of Paul Dirac's scientific legacy and the importance of his contributions to his field. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative, quite accessible and immensely captivating; the book is very difficult to put down. This is a tome that can be enjoyed by anyone who wants an accessible outline of the tremendous discoveries and accomplishments that were made in twentieth century physics, the brilliant people who made them, all centered on the life of one of its greatest contributors.