He studied with Niels Bohr, taught Richard Feynman, and boned up on relativity with his friend and colleague Albert Einstein. John Archibald Wheeler's fascinating life brings us face to face with the central characters and discoveries of modern physics. He was the first American to learn of the discovery of nuclear fission, later coined the term "black hole," led a renaissance in gravitation physics, and helped to build Princeton University into a mecca for physicists.

From nuclear physics, to quantum theory, to relativity and gravitation, Wheeler's work has set the trajectory of research for half a century. His career has brought him into contact with the most brilliant minds of his field; Fermi, Bethe, Rabi, Teller, Oppenheimer, and Wigner are among those he called colleagues and friends. In this rich autobiography, Wheeler reveals in fascinating detail the excitement of each discovery, the character of each colleague, and the underlying passion for knowledge that drives him still.

About the Author
John Archibald Wheeler currently holds an emeritus professorship at Princeton University, where he spent most of his career. Kenneth Ford is the retired director of the American Institute of Physics. He recently taught high-school physics and served as science director of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Reviews
"A paradigm of scientific autobiography: candid and warm, as clear as crystal...John Wheeler has lived an immensely interesting and important life at the center of physics in the twentieth century." -- Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone
"In this rich and wonderful book, we see John Wheeler grow from fire-cracker-lightning boyhood into perhaps the most innovative physicist-thinker of our time and one of the most powerful mentors of young scientists. As we watch him struggle with the deepest puzzles at the frontiers of science-the nature of space, time, gravity, and the quantum-we find ourselves immersed in the ethos of twentieth-century physics, and we glimpse the physics of the future. It's a great read." -- Kip S. Thorne, author of Black Holes and Time Warps



Book Information
ISBN 9780393319910
Author John Archibald Wheeler
Format Paperback
Page Count 390
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 482g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 140mm * 25mm