Wolfgang K.H. Panofsky is a prominent physicist who has been an active contributor to elementary particle physics, accelerator building, and laboratory administration as well as to international security policy and arms control. This volume is a somewhat unorthodox memoir.

In Panofsky's words:

"This volume contains an unsystematic account of my past work; it is not intended to be an autobiography in the conventional meaning of the term. It is not even remotely a scholarly description of the momentous developments in which I was able to participate; rather it is a recital of memorable episodes, borrowing from the compulsory preface of facetious British history: 'History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember.' "

Pief

This book is both an autobiography of W.K.H. Panofsky, the respected physicist and director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center as well as a discussion and analysis of issues critical to the relationship between independent academic inquiry and imposed government orthodoxy. It chronologically discusses the major phases of Dr. Panofsky's life, from his early research at the beginning of World War II to his recent efforts towards arms control and the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. The book describes each phase of Dr. Panofsky's career in sufficient detail to inform the reader of the nature of the issues surrounding his work, and to lay the basis for explaining the course of action chosen. It invites "out of context" reading by those interested in the particular issues covered, separate from their biographical relevance.