"Julian Schwinger was one of the leading theoretical physicists of the twentieth century. His contributions are as important, and as pervasive, as those of Richard Feynman, with whom (and with Sin-itiro Tomonaga) he shared the 1965 Nobel Prize for Physics. Yet, while Feynman is universally recognized as a cultural icon, Schwinger is little known even to many within the physics community. This biography aims to describe Schwinger's life and research contributions to a wider audience." "This biography describes the many strands of his research life, while tracing the personal life of this private and gentle genius."--BOOK JACKET.