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What are physicists like, then? Remarkable Physicists (Cambridge University Press, £19.99) offers 50 biographies by mathematician Ioan James. There’s too much of the (lack of) flavour of obituary writing here, leaving juicy questions hanging: who was the last of Schrödinger’s many mistresses? Exactly what is de Broglie supposed to have wasted the end of his career on? A useful reference nevertheless.