Bird of Passage: Recollections of a Physicist

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Here is the intensely personal and often humorous autobiography of one of the most distinguished theoretical physicists of his generation, Sir Rudolf Peierls. Born in Germany in 1907, Peierls was indeed a bird of passage," whose career of fifty-five years took him to leading centers of physics--including Munich, Leipzig, Zurich, Copenhagen, Cambrid

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"[This] fascinating autobiography not only attests to [Peierls's] having been in on the most important scientific developments since the mid-1920s--in brief, the quantum revolution--but his lively account of the events of this period, and of its main actors, their contributions, and--with respect and sympathy--their quirks, provides a significant contribution to the scientific history of our time."--Bernard T. Feld, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists "Anybody with some interest in the way scientists live, feel and think, should read this book. They will be richly rewarded and entertained."--Victor Weisskopf, London Times Higher Education Supplement "He knew everyone in the small pre-war physics world, and stories of his many friends are told delightfully."--Sir Nevill Mott, Physics Bulletin "This is an excellent book with far more in it than I can mention here, which I wholeheartedly recommend."--David Hall, Scope