This book tells the story of Hugh Everett III (1930-1982) who invented a theory of multiple universes that has had a profound impact on physics and philosophy. Everett strove to bring a "rational" order to the interlacing worlds of nuclear war and physics, even as his personal world disintegrated because of his indulgent lifestyle. Using Everett's unpublished papers and dozens of interviews, the book paints a detailed portrait of a man who influenced foundational thinking in quantum mechanics by inventing a way of viewing the universe from inside (known as the universal wave function). In addition to his famous interpretation of quantum mechanics, Everett wrote one of the classic papers in game theory; invented computer algorithms that revolutionized military operations research; and did pioneering work in artificial intelligence. As a Cold Warrior, he designed systems that modelled human behaviour along rational lines, and yet he was largely oblivious to the emotional damage his irrational behaviour inflicted upon his family, lovers and business partners. But he left behind, in the papers on which this book is based, a fascinating record of his life, including correspondence with the leading scientific minds of the day, that illuminates the often bitter struggle over the interpretation of the mystery of measurement at the heart of quantum mechanics. 1. Family Origins: A Sketch 2. Katherine: The Dark Star 3. The Scientist as a Young Man 4. Nancy Gordon Gore 5. Demigods 6. Decisions, Decisions: The Theory of Games 7. Origin of MAD 8. Quantum Everett 9. The Measurement Problem 10. Collapse and Copenhagen 11. Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics 12. Wheeler: Radical Conservative 13. Going to Chapel Hill 14. Out of the Basement 15. Alone in the Room 16. Tour of Many Worlds 17. The Battle with Bohr, Part I 18. The Battle with Bohr, Part II 19. Preparing for World War III 20. Fallout 21. A Vacation in Copenhagen 22. The SIOP is Born 23. Everett Goes to Xavier 24. Transitions 25. Weaponeering 26. The Bayesian Machine 27. Many Worlds Reborn 28. Records in Time 29. Wheeler Recants 30. Austin 31. The Final Years 32. Aftermath 33. Modern Everett "In this extraordinarily personal biography, Peter Byrne masterfully conveys the life, struggles, achievements, and failures of this fascinating man, whose insights in physics created a new understanding of quantum mechanics, whose secret work helped usher us through the Cold War, and whose inner battles led to his own destruction." --A. Garrett Lisi, physicist, author of 'An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything'"In this biography, Peter Byrne bravely explores both the life and the science of Hugh Everett, the brilliant creator of the 'many worlds' concept who burned himself out at an early age. As Byrne makes clear, Everett's startling achievements in physics stood against his startling deficiencies as a husband and father." --Kenneth W. Ford, retired director, American Institute of Physics."This book has the potential to become the definitive biography of one of the finest minds of the twentieth century." --David Deutsch FRS, Oxford University"Peter Byrne has the skills of a seasoned journalist: an eye for a story, a knack for turning up improbable interviews and previously undiscovered manuscripts, and a thoroughly engaging style. His target here is inherently interesting, and the resulting story is a remarkable achievement." --Jeff Barrett, Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of California, Irvine"This is an exciting book about a man who was ahead of his time by decades, although he did no more than logically apply a well-established theory against all prejudice. Peter Byrne has done an excellent job in unearthing documents, most of them unknown, about the history of Everett's ideas, their reception by the leading physicists from 1957 until today, and the consequences this had for Everett's life." --H. Dieter Zeh, University of HeidelbergPeter Byrne is an investigative reporter and science writer based in northern California. He has written for Scientific American, Mother Jones, Salon.com, SF Weekly, North Bay Bohemian, and many other magazines and newsweeklies. He has received national recognition for his investigative reporting, including from Investigative Editors and Reporters and Project Censored. He a member of the Foundational Questions Institute, which has supported this book with a large grant. He has made presentations on Everett at University of Oxford, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and University of California, Irvine. He consulted on (and appeared in) the BBC4 production about Everett, Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives. He is curating the Everett papers."We are grateful to Peter Byrne for this remarkable and remarkably sad story of the life and science of Hugh Everett III. Gifted, but late-to-be-recognized, Everett, while still in his twenties, proposed a new, now somewhat fashionable, interpretation of the quantum theory--the often rediscovered and often misinterpreted, so called, many worlds theory. Byrne gives a lucid and accessible account of many aspects of what has been an extraordinarily puzzling question that has bedeviled the quantum theory since its origin. And he does this with a warts and all reconstruction of Everett's life. An impressive achievement." --Leon N. Cooper, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1972