Tuva or Bust! Richard Feynman's Last Journey
In 1977, Feynman and his sidekick— fellow drummer and geography enthusiast Ralph Leighton—set out to make arrangements to visit Tuva, doing noble and hilarious battle with Soviet red tape, befriending quite a few Tuvans, and discovering the wonders of Tuvan throat-singing. Their Byzantine attempts to reach Tannu Tuva would span a decade, interrupted by Feynman's appointment to the committee investigating the Challenger disaster, and his tragic struggle with the cancer that finally killed him....
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As a stamp-collecting boy always fascinated by remote places, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman was particularly taken by the diamond-shaped stamps from a place called Tannu Tuva deep within Outer Mongolia. He hoped, someday, to travel there. Scientific American Editors A delightful tale that Leighton tells in this updated paperback version of the hardcover published in 1991....A harrowing and often hilarious tale.
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ As a kid, physicist Richard Feynman collected triangular postage stamps from Tannu Tuva, a remote, mountain-capped fastness in Mongolia. In adulthood, a chance conversation with fellow drummer and coauthor Leighton ( What Do You Care What Other People Think? ) kindled their yearning for this exotic land of nomads, yaks and camels, nominally independent from 1921 to 1944 and now part of the U.S.S.R. The duo spent a frustrating decade trying to get to Tannu Tuva, dickering with Soviet officials while Feynman, who died in 1988, also coped with recurring cancer and investigated the Challenger space shuttle disaster for NASA. Only Leighton would ultimately make the long-sought pilgrimage to Tannu Tuva, where he was serenaded with songs by ethnographer Ondar Daryma, who wages a ``one-man crusade to preserve Tuvan culture.'' (A vinyl record of xoomei --Tuvan throat-singing in which one singer, incredibly, intones two melodies at once--comes as an insert with the book). Animated by irrepressible high spirits, this serendipitous saga is a tale of adventure, heartbreak and rare friendship. (Apr.)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIntrigued by the comely, diamond-shaped stamps collected as children from an obscure, Soviet-controlled region of Mongolia called Tannu Tuva, and by the curious spelling of its capital--Kyzyl--Nobel laureate physicist Feynman and his sidekick Leighton make a pact to visit the area. Despite snags engendered by Cold War politics and Feynman's deteriorating physical condition, their persistence is rewarded by an official invitation to Tuva from the USSR Academy of Sciences. Sadly, Feynman is felled by abdominal cancer before the trip begins, yet his irrepressible pranks and unquenchable intellectual curiosity touch the hearts of all involved in organizing the journey. Readers who enjoyed the collaborative efforts of Feynman and Leighton in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman ( LJ 3/15/85) and What Do You Care What Other People Think? ( LJ 11/15/88) will undoubtedly cherish this poignant account of Feynman's last escapade.--Mark Annichiarico, ``Library Journal''\ \ \ BooknewsA splendid piece of Feynmaniana--the Tuva attempt by a close friend. Includes a phonodisc of Tuvan singing. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \ \ \ \ Scientific American EditorsA delightful tale that Leighton tells in this updated paperback version of the hardcover published in 1991....A harrowing and often hilarious tale.\ \
