Author Peter Byrne tells the story of Hugh Everett III (1930-1982), whose “many worlds” theory of multiple universes has had a profound impact on physics and philosophy. Using Everett’s unpublished papers and dozens of interviews, Byrne paints a detailed portrait of the genius who invented an astonishing way of describing our complex universe. Everett’s mathematical model (called the “universal wave function”) treats all possible events as “equally real,” and concludes that countless copies of every person and thing exist in all possible configurations spread over an infinity of universes. Everett also wrote a classic paper in game theory, creating computer algorithms that revolutionized military operations research, and performed pioneering work in artificial intelligence for top-secret government projects. Afflicted by depression and addictions he died young, but left behind a fascinating record of his life, including correspondence with such philosophically inclined physicists as Niels Bohr, Norbert Wiener, and John Wheeler. In recent years, the existence of a universe of universes has gained traction in scientific circles as an explanation of physical reality. Byrne can be reached at 707-338-6534 and pbyrne@sonic.net.