Reddit mentions of The New World of Mr Tompkins: George Gamow's Classic Mr Tompkins in Paperback

Get him a raspberry Pi. He'll love it.

If that doesn't work then get him a shit ton of bowling balls. You can never have enough bowling balls. Between pendulums, waves, and giant Newton's cradle. You can usually get free bowling balls from bowling alleys if you say that you're a teacher and you need them for class. Or to blow stuff up.

Not cool enough - how about some Lego key chains. Always fun.

He's a physics guy so how about "A Brief History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. Great, quick read. Want a similar book that is a bit more academic - then go with "The Scientists" by John Gibbin. Want a similar book but from the perspective of uncredited discoveries - try "Lost Discoveries" by Dick Teresi. All great books about the history of science.

Got a load of money - sign him up for the AAPT. Amazing journal.

Any of the Feynman books are good reads as well. Or any Oliver Sacks but they tend to run on the chem side.

Get him a copy of The new world of Mr. Tompkins goes to quantum land (or something like that - I'm on my phone and I'll edit the comment when I can).

When I first got interested in physics and before I developed the mathematical framework, someone directed me towards this book. It's great because it assumes (as far as I can remember) no real mathematical background, yet delves into the concepts very intuitively. It still sits on my shelf next to my more "serious" books. Love that book.


Side note: You should give a little bit of your background (read: mathematics) so we can better help you out.

I guess this one?

However, as someone in the review states that:
> I wish I had read the original book instead of this one, or at least read it first.

I'm wondering: did you read the first book and can you maybe explain me which one would be a better read?

EDIT: Also, which book does the person in the review refer to?
Im sorry, I'm stupid. Amazon itself states that:
> hugely successful Mr Tompkins in Paperback (by George Gamow) in 1965.

Anyway, my question still stands: have you read both and can you recommend me one?

Mr. Tompkins in Paperback is exactly her speed. It's by George Gamow with a posthumous second edition. Explores modern physics through a series of short-stories involving a pudgy British banker (Mr. Tompkins himself). Mr. Tompkins keeps falling into alternate universes where the physical constants are macroscopic (e.g. 10m/s for c, or 1 J•s for h). Great for building intuition and wonder.