Physicist and mathematician Dyson compiles nearly 50 technical papers he thinks are most important from his half-century of activity and research, and explains the context in which they originated and the subsequent history of the problems they address. He offers contributions to number theory, topology, quantum electrodynamics, random matrices, scattering theory, adaptive optics, interstellar communications, and other fields. He also provides a chronological list of all his technical papers, whether included or not. No index. Jointly published by the International Press. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.