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Mr Tompkins
Mr Tompkins in Paperback
Mr Tompkins has become known and loved by many thousands of readers (since his first appearance over fifty years ago) as the bank clerk whose fantastic dreams and adventures lead him into a world inside the atom. George Gamow's classic provides a delightful explanation of the central concepts in modern physics, from atomic structure to relativity, and quantum theory to fusion and fission. Roger Penrose's new foreword introduces Mr Tompkins to a new generation of readers, and reviews his adventures in the light of current developments in physics today.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
128 people are currently reading
1653 people want to read
About the author
George Gamow
85 books246 followersGeorge Gamow (Russian pronunciation: [ˈɡaməf:]; March 4 [O.S. February 20:] 1904 – August 19, 1968), born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov (Георгий Антонович Гамов), was a theoretical physicist and cosmologist born in the Russian Empire. He discovered alpha decay via quantum tunneling and worked on radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, big bang nucleosynthesis, cosmic microwave background, nucleocosmogenesis and genetics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
March 20, 2018
Make Physics Easy Again!
Are you scared of physics? Don’t want to spend your valuable time to understand the complexity of the world of physics? Do you think physics cannot be easy or physics cant be funny??
Come here! Come here!
One afternoon of a bank holiday Mr. Tompkins goes to attend a lecture on Theory of Relativity and falls asleep when the lecture goes over his head. But only then he enters a dream world where everything is happening like the lecturer was saying. Surprisingly, now the phenomena are easy to understand cause those are actually happening in front of his eyes.
An everyday character trying to comprehend difficult concepts of science in weirdly simple yet delicious dreams, walk in parks and what not!
Seriously, here is a book for all of us written by one of the finest physicist himself! Read it to laugh, read it to learn! You will never regret reading this! Please?!
Are you scared of physics? Don’t want to spend your valuable time to understand the complexity of the world of physics? Do you think physics cannot be easy or physics cant be funny??
Come here! Come here!
One afternoon of a bank holiday Mr. Tompkins goes to attend a lecture on Theory of Relativity and falls asleep when the lecture goes over his head. But only then he enters a dream world where everything is happening like the lecturer was saying. Surprisingly, now the phenomena are easy to understand cause those are actually happening in front of his eyes.
An everyday character trying to comprehend difficult concepts of science in weirdly simple yet delicious dreams, walk in parks and what not!
Seriously, here is a book for all of us written by one of the finest physicist himself! Read it to laugh, read it to learn! You will never regret reading this! Please?!
February 12, 2016
George Gamow (during his "three decade vacation" in the USA) wrote a number of articles and books featuring Mr. Tompkins, a bank clerk with an especially easily influenced dream-life. The dreams have a funny way of becoming stories and adventures that explain features of fundamental physics and cosmology (as of the 1960s). Many of the illustrations are also by Gamow. A foreword to this edition by Roger Penrose indicates where theory has moved on since Gamow's time and the few, slight inaccuracies in the description of Relativity.
Mr. Tompkins' adventures are charming - delightful, in fact, though they show signs of the time/culture they were written in. The appearances by Father Paulini (Pauli) and Maxwell's Demon (dressed as a Butler but never without his tennis-racquet) are particular fun for me. No-one would consider writing a popular science book via this approach these days and so this will remain a unique classic of the genre. Strongly recommended to everyone just for the fun of it. You might learn something along the way but nevermind if you don't - just wait for the bit where Tompkins turns into an electron!
Mr. Tompkins' adventures are charming - delightful, in fact, though they show signs of the time/culture they were written in. The appearances by Father Paulini (Pauli) and Maxwell's Demon (dressed as a Butler but never without his tennis-racquet) are particular fun for me. No-one would consider writing a popular science book via this approach these days and so this will remain a unique classic of the genre. Strongly recommended to everyone just for the fun of it. You might learn something along the way but nevermind if you don't - just wait for the bit where Tompkins turns into an electron!
December 30, 2014
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
--Mr Tompkins in Paperback
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
--Mr Tompkins in Paperback
August 14, 2010
This book is a classic popularization of science by one of the great popular science writers who was also a brilliant physicist. He did a lot of work in developing the big bang theory. This book combines two earlier books. The first is "Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland" which discusses the weird consequences of relativity on time, mass, and velocity through alternating scenes of a science lecture and the dreams of a bank clerk who dozes off during the lecture. The same structure is used in the second book, "Mr. Thomkins Explores the Atom", which describes quantum mechanics including atomic and nuclear structure.
Gamow writes in a clear and humorous style that both enlightens and entertains. His writing reminds one of the way Richard Feynman could break down the most complicated concepts into easily digestible nuggets. (Considering the chronology, perhaps Feynman reminds one of Gamow.) He imagines what the world would be like if the speed of light was much smaller and is obtainable by a bicyclist. In the second book, he imagines what would happen if Planck's constant were much larger. (It has to do with the uncertainty principle.) General readers will like this book, and learn a lot of science. Readers who know the science will love it and increase their understanding.
Gamow writes in a clear and humorous style that both enlightens and entertains. His writing reminds one of the way Richard Feynman could break down the most complicated concepts into easily digestible nuggets. (Considering the chronology, perhaps Feynman reminds one of Gamow.) He imagines what the world would be like if the speed of light was much smaller and is obtainable by a bicyclist. In the second book, he imagines what would happen if Planck's constant were much larger. (It has to do with the uncertainty principle.) General readers will like this book, and learn a lot of science. Readers who know the science will love it and increase their understanding.
December 23, 2016
Mr. Tompkins, a childlike fellow who works at a bank and has limited intellectual ambition, has various fantastical experiences (usually dreamed up while sleeping through lectures delivered by his father-in-law, a physics professor) which illustrate the laws of physics in extremely intuitive ways. The book is geared to young readers or an audience with casual interest in the subject, but I must say I learned more than I'd like to admit. This is a thoroughly charming little book with a pleasantly dated, mid-century feel. From the standpoint of the history of science, it is interesting to read an account of the "latest" developments--as of 1965--in quantum physics and relativity from the point of view of a contemporary and one of the big names in the field.
March 16, 2015
This book is a commentary book on the theory of relativity.
It explain it so much fun.
It explain it so much fun.
July 28, 2022
A little old fashioned, but amazingly creative and scientific stories!
June 15, 2014
While drinking with a select group of academics and fellow graduate students a raucous and far-ranging discussion led to an ernest suggestion to read George Gamow’s Mr Tompkins stories. The discussion had meandered into a messy philosophical argument bringing into question our understanding quantum physics, as discussions often did in the cloistered world of university physics departments. Well actually they usually devolved to discussions on sex and quantum physics; two subjects we physicists found equally mysterious.
Fortunately George Gamow had thought about quantum physics enough to make it intelligible to most, including physicists. His stories explain to the layman the basic ideas of quantum physics and relativity by exaggerating the actually existing phenomena to such an extent that they can be easily observed by the hero of his stories, C. G. H. Tompkins, a little clerk of a big city bank.
George Gamow wrote the first story in 1938 and subsequently had it rejected by Harper’s Magazine. Suitably chastened after half a dozen more magazine rejections he put the manuscript in a desk drawer and forgot about it. What follows, in his own words, is a fascinating commentary on science communication:
During summer of the same year, i attended the International Conference on Theoretical Physics, organized by the League of nations in Warsaw. I was chatting over a glass of excellent Polish miod with my old friend Sir Charles Darwin, the grandson of Charles (The Origin of Species) Darwin, and the conversation turned to the popularization of science. I told Darwin about the bad luck I had along this line, and he said : ‘Look, Gamow, when you get back to the United States dig up your manuscript and send it to Dr C. P. Snow, who is the editor of a popular scientific magazine Discovery published by the Cambridge University Press.’ So I did just this, and a week later came a telegram from Snow saying: ‘Your article will be published in the next issue. Please send more.’
The rest, as they say, is history. In 1940 Cambridge University Press published a book form of the articles called Mr Tompkins in Wonderland. This book was followed by a sequel, Mr Tompkins Explores the Atom, published in 1944. Then in 1965 Cambridge University Press united these two books into this current volume, which updated the stories with current advances in physics, illustrations by Gamow and verses and songs (!) written by Gamow’s wife Barbara. This possible quaintness works well for these stories; giving them an intimate storytelling, an almost (in my mind) Lewis Carroll feel to the stories, while at the same time knowing that the physics is real.
The fifteen chapters in this volume truly are a masterclass of science communication; exquisite science, simple and engaging stories, imbued with subtle humor. Some of my favorites are: Quantum Jungles, where Tompkins and ‘his old friend the professor’ go hunting with ‘Sir Richard’ in a region where everything within is subject to quantum laws with a very large quantum constant, resulting in tiger hunting with a difference, and chapter 101/2 (J. K. Rowling I think was influenced by this 1965 piece of writing), A Part of the Previous lecture which Mr Tompkins Slept Through, which introduces quantum chemistry.
This was a must read in 1981 when I was first introduced to it. Gamow has lost none of his ability to communicate what even now is an arcane discipline to non-specialists or ‘layman’. Gamow is also, I believe, a great example to any, both aspiring and established, science writers on how to develop and communicate a narrative around complex science subjects.
This review was first published here: http://dragonlaughing.tumblr.com/post...
Fortunately George Gamow had thought about quantum physics enough to make it intelligible to most, including physicists. His stories explain to the layman the basic ideas of quantum physics and relativity by exaggerating the actually existing phenomena to such an extent that they can be easily observed by the hero of his stories, C. G. H. Tompkins, a little clerk of a big city bank.
George Gamow wrote the first story in 1938 and subsequently had it rejected by Harper’s Magazine. Suitably chastened after half a dozen more magazine rejections he put the manuscript in a desk drawer and forgot about it. What follows, in his own words, is a fascinating commentary on science communication:
During summer of the same year, i attended the International Conference on Theoretical Physics, organized by the League of nations in Warsaw. I was chatting over a glass of excellent Polish miod with my old friend Sir Charles Darwin, the grandson of Charles (The Origin of Species) Darwin, and the conversation turned to the popularization of science. I told Darwin about the bad luck I had along this line, and he said : ‘Look, Gamow, when you get back to the United States dig up your manuscript and send it to Dr C. P. Snow, who is the editor of a popular scientific magazine Discovery published by the Cambridge University Press.’ So I did just this, and a week later came a telegram from Snow saying: ‘Your article will be published in the next issue. Please send more.’
The rest, as they say, is history. In 1940 Cambridge University Press published a book form of the articles called Mr Tompkins in Wonderland. This book was followed by a sequel, Mr Tompkins Explores the Atom, published in 1944. Then in 1965 Cambridge University Press united these two books into this current volume, which updated the stories with current advances in physics, illustrations by Gamow and verses and songs (!) written by Gamow’s wife Barbara. This possible quaintness works well for these stories; giving them an intimate storytelling, an almost (in my mind) Lewis Carroll feel to the stories, while at the same time knowing that the physics is real.
The fifteen chapters in this volume truly are a masterclass of science communication; exquisite science, simple and engaging stories, imbued with subtle humor. Some of my favorites are: Quantum Jungles, where Tompkins and ‘his old friend the professor’ go hunting with ‘Sir Richard’ in a region where everything within is subject to quantum laws with a very large quantum constant, resulting in tiger hunting with a difference, and chapter 101/2 (J. K. Rowling I think was influenced by this 1965 piece of writing), A Part of the Previous lecture which Mr Tompkins Slept Through, which introduces quantum chemistry.
This was a must read in 1981 when I was first introduced to it. Gamow has lost none of his ability to communicate what even now is an arcane discipline to non-specialists or ‘layman’. Gamow is also, I believe, a great example to any, both aspiring and established, science writers on how to develop and communicate a narrative around complex science subjects.
This review was first published here: http://dragonlaughing.tumblr.com/post...
October 11, 2013
Mr Tompkins has a number of dreams in which he encounters advanced physics on a personal level. Thus he is exposed to relativity and quantum mechanics, cycling close to the speed of light and circling a nucleus as an electron.
At first glance, this seems like a good way to bring science to the masses. In fact, this kind of writing is never satisfactory. Shrinking the hero to an atomic scale so that he can experience quantum effects first hand may create an illusion of understanding, but the reader can gain only the vaguest idea of what is really going on. Thus, the work is too difficult for the layman and too inaccurate for the specialist, and falls between two stools.
At first glance, this seems like a good way to bring science to the masses. In fact, this kind of writing is never satisfactory. Shrinking the hero to an atomic scale so that he can experience quantum effects first hand may create an illusion of understanding, but the reader can gain only the vaguest idea of what is really going on. Thus, the work is too difficult for the layman and too inaccurate for the specialist, and falls between two stools.
April 16, 2018
Physics has never come naturally to me. I thought this book would help me understand more since it is supposedly written for children. Every once in a while, I understood something, but most of the time it went into the eyes and immediately rose up like steam through my brain without sticking anywhere. Oh well. I suppose if I repeatedly attempt to understand, eventually I'll get it. Fortunately, I own this book and can easily read it again if I can bear it. The fact that it's somewhat outdated will lessen that possibility. I do like what I understood.
September 1, 2014
In maniera divertente e semplicissima, riesce a spiegare molti concetti della fisica moderna, riportandoli alla quotidianità.
L'autore, George Gamov (1904-1968), fu un importante fisico e cosmologo, oltre che un brillante divulgatore scientifico, di origine russa ma dal 1936 naturalizzato statunitense.
Fra l'altro, fu uno strenuo sostenitore della teoria del Big Bang e, nei suoi lavori, predisse l'esistenza della radiazione cosmica di fondo.
L'autore, George Gamov (1904-1968), fu un importante fisico e cosmologo, oltre che un brillante divulgatore scientifico, di origine russa ma dal 1936 naturalizzato statunitense.
Fra l'altro, fu uno strenuo sostenitore della teoria del Big Bang e, nei suoi lavori, predisse l'esistenza della radiazione cosmica di fondo.
April 13, 2011
Without this book I would still be utterly lost trying to understand modern (circa 1950s) theoretical physics. While I'm still far from fluent in understanding all the nuances of relativity, this book provides a guided tour through it's perplexing concepts. Want to better understand Einstein? This is the book for you.
January 6, 2011
This is the coolest introduction to Physics out there, I actually read and reviewed it for my final project in my Physics class at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics way back in 1997. I still have a really fond place in my heart for this well-written introduction to complex concepts. LOVE IT!
February 15, 2016
Finally got to read Gamov's book on physics featuring Mr.Tompkins :) Gives a beautiful account of Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics in everyday language. It had one of the best, most accessible explanations of radioactivity that I have ever read.
Longer review soon.
Longer review soon.
May 21, 2008
If you want to read up on quantum theory, this is the best place to start!
May 25, 2017
Mr.Tompkins is not your average book. It is a collection of short stories all based around the same character learning about science. The stories are usually entirely disconnected from each other and usually turn out to just be dreams. If you like to learn about math and science I highly recommend this as the book tries to explain it in a way that lets you think about similarities to the macro world we live in compared to the micro world he usually explores. The book talks about everything from how the speed of light works to subatomic particles qualities to things as big as the end and start of the universe. So no matter what level your at if you are interested in science this would be a great interesting and informational read.
November 17, 2018
I read translated versions of these books as a boy, and they were part of the reason that I pursued an education and work life focused on natural sciences and technology. So even if theoretical physics may have evolved somewhat since the midlle of the 20th century, I thought it would be interesting to revisit Gamow's little gems. I found the stories to still be charming, but maybe three decades passed had cast a too romantic light, raising my expectations to an unrealistic level. three-and-a-half stars.
October 26, 2017
Mr. Tompkins has a bad habit of falling asleep during his friend the Physics professor’s lectures and having wild dreams set in the strange worlds of quantum physics and atomic particles. The book is a blend of these fanciful adventures with straightforward discussions of science. Last revised in the mid 60s so it might not be totally up to date, but it’s mainly of interest for Gamow’s sometimes humorous way in popularizing fairly difficult topics.
August 13, 2021
Very enjoyable read. Mr Tompkins explores worlds in which the speed of light is small and ones in which Planck's constant is large, leading to relativistic and quantum mechanics effects in everyday life. A great way to dip one's toes into modern physics or even to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation.
March 3, 2026
Very enjoyable read. Mr Tompkins explores worlds in which the speed of light is small and ones in which Planck's constant is large, leading to relativistic and quantum mechanics effects in everyday life. A great way to dip one's toes into modern physics or even to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation.
September 28, 2019
Fantástico libro de divulgación científica que hace un paralelismo con Alicia y su pa´ñis de las maravillas para introducirnos en la rarezas y aparentes contradicciones con el "sentido común" que posee la física cuántica. Muy entretenido.
October 4, 2024
Una serie de historias cortas sobre física cuántica. Enfocadas a hacer este tema difícil, si no es que escabroso, sea más simple para el lector de a pie. Lo que de hecho logra con muy buenas explicaciones y "cuantos" interesantes.
September 16, 2019
Great as a popularizing physics book.
December 30, 2019
Легкая книга с яркими аналогиями от одного из тех кто наблюдал за развитием физики двадцатого века с самого первого ряда, а иногда даже выходя на сцену. Но книжка конечно немножко устарела с 1960х.
November 27, 2020
A book to reread.
January 10, 2022
A very nice attempt to clarify physics with concrete vivid literary stories. It can also be used as a good touchstone for teenagers finding out how interesting physics is to them.
February 28, 2023
Interesting from a history of science and thought experiment point of view. A little dull and sexist from today's point of view.
March 27, 2025
Nice intro to physics...
July 5, 2025
Perfect for anyone who wants to better understand advanced physics concepts. The stories are also well written and do an effective job of introducing the concepts as narrative elements.
October 29, 2019
this did teach me a lot about basic physics and made me a bit more curious in seeking out more! fun! could have gotten a higher score but man i’m not sure if it’s just this edition or what, but it’s got some antisemitism. makes me queasy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews