Not only was E.P. Wigner one of the most active creators of 20th century physics, he was also always interested in expressing his opinion in philosophical, political or sociological matters. This volume of his collected works covers a wide selection of his essays about science and society, about himself and his colleagues. Annotated by J. Mehra, this volume will become an important source of reference for historians of science, and it will be pleasant reading for every physicist interested in forming ideas in modern physics.

This collection of essays is intended as a tribute to Josef Maria Jauch on his sixtieth birthd . Through his scientific work Jauch has justly earned an honored name in the community of theo retical physicists. Through his teaching and a long line of dis tinguished collaborators he has put an imprint on modern mathema tical physics. A number of Jauch's scientific collaborators, friends and admirers have contributed to this collection, and these essays reflect to some extent Jauch's own wide interests in the vast do main of theoretical physics. Josef Maria Jauch was born on 20 September 1914, the son of Josef Alois and Emma (nee Conti) Jauch, in Lucerne, Switzerland. Love of science was aroused in him early in his youth. At the age of twelve he came upon a popular book on astronomy, and an exam ple treated in this book mystified him. It was stated that if a planet travels around a centre of Newtonian attraction with a pe riod T, and if that planet were stopped and left to fall into the centre from any point of the circular orbit, it would arrive at the centre in the time T/I32. Young Josef puzzled about this for several months until he made his first scientific discovery: that this result could be derived from Kepler's third law in a quite elementary way."

Eugene Wigner is one of the few giants of 20th-century physics. His early work helped to shape quantum mechanics, he laid the foundations of nuclear physics and nuclear engineering, and he contributed significantly to solid-state physics. His philosophical and political writings are widely known. All his works will be reprinted in Eugene Paul Wigner's Collected Workstogether with descriptive annotations by outstanding scientists. The present volume begins with a short biographical sketch followed by Wigner's papers on group theory, an extremely powerful tool he created for theoretical quantum physics. They are presented in two parts. The first, annotated by B. Judd, covers applications to atomic and molecular spectra, term structure, time reversal and spin. In the second, G. Mackey introduces to the reader the mathematical papers, many of which are outstanding contributions to the theory of unitary representations of groups, including the famous paper on the Lorentz group.

"Nishta Mehra's luminous prose shines in these linked essay meditations on love, grief, and identity. A natural storyteller, she has an original voice, an ear for spoken language, and an eye for the sparkling detail. A compellingly original coming-of-age story told in writing that is at turns crisp and lyrical but always entertaining." -Cara Blue Adams, editor, "The Southern Review"

""The Pomegranate King" is an emotionally balanced, thoughtfully curated collection of essays...Mehra unpacks what it means to arrive at the shores of other strange countries: coming out, falling in love, becoming a parent and mourning your own. A truly moving debut." -Lauren Eggert-Crowe, author of "In the Songbird Laboratory & The Exhibit"

Divided into four sections--Identity, Death, Community, & Belief--"The Pomegranate King" is a dynamic collection of essays that showcases Nishta Mehra's insightful voice and unique perspective. Filled with stories that are at once deeply personal and universally relevant, these twelve original essays demonstrate Mehra's ability to find meaning in all facets of human experience. Whether recounting the sudden death of her father, describing her adventures in the kitchen, or analyzing the art of Mark Rothko, Mehra makes smart, poignant observations that will captivate and touch you. An engaging, compelling read.