''Tuva or Bust!'' (1991) is a book by Ralph Leighton about the author and his friend

Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist. He is best known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of t ...

's attempt to travel to

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. The introduction explains how Feynman challenged Leighton, at the time a high school math teacher, "Whatever happened to Tannu Tuva?" Since Feynman had a reputation as a prankster, Leighton assumed it was made up. But the country existed, and the pair became fascinated with this hard-to-reach destination in the middle of Asia, which had become a republic in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. They made it a goal to travel there, which, for Americans in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was extremely difficult. In many ways, the attempt to travel to Tuva is an allegory for Feynman's perpetual curiosity to discover new things, and how he inspired his friends, admirers and protégés to do the same. During their decade-long quest to travel to Tuva, Feynman was suffering from cancer, and died shortly before the visas finally arrived; this book describes "Richard Feynman's last adventure". The book describes the difficulties and various attempts Leighton and Feynman made to obtain permission to travel to Tuva. It also describes the culture, language and history of the place. Included with some editions of the book is a small

flexi disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

Tuvan throat singing Tuvan throat singing, also known as Mongolian throat singing, is a style of singing practiced by people in Tuva and Mongolia, the main technique of which is known as ''khoomei'' ( or ). It is noted for including overtone singing. In 2009, it w ...

. Essentially the same subject of Feynman's and Leighton's interactions and tribulations was also the basis for a documentary titled ''The Quest for Tannu Tuva'', which was released before the book was published. It was produced for the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

series ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

'' and first broadcast on 4 July 1988. That documentary was in turn repackaged with a new American narration and titled ''The Last Journey of a Genius'', which was broadcast as part of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series ''

NOVA A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'' on 24 January 1989. Feynman never managed to get to Tuva. Instead of him, the trip was realized by his daughter Michelle, who travelled to Tuva on June 8, 2009. Leighton stated in 2013 that "The whole Tuvan culture was disappearing because it was outmoded, shall we say, under the Soviet system. They were supposed to build the new Modern Soviet Man, and therefore places like Tuva, which practices shamanism and Buddhism, were seen as backward." Fox, M.
"Kongar-ol Ondar, a Master of a Vocal Art, Dies at 51"
''The New York Times'', Aug 3, 2013.

References

External links

��A Review by Bobby Matherne

{{Richard Feynman American biographies Books about Russia Richard Feynman Tuva 1991 non-fiction books W. W. Norton & Company books