Book excerpt: The book treats free probability theory, which has been extensively developed since the early 1980s. The emphasis is put on entropy and the random matrix model approach. The volume is a unique presentation demonstrating the extensive interrelation between the topics. Wigner's theorem and its broad generalizations, such as asymptotic freeness of independent matrices, are explained in detail. Consistent throughout the book is the parallelism between the normal and semicircle laws. Voiculescu's multivariate free entropy theory is presented with full proofs and extends the results to unitary operators. Some applications to operator algebras are also given. Based on lectures given by the authors in Hungary, Japan, and Italy, the book is a good reference for mathematicians interested in free probability theory and can serve as a text for an advanced graduate course. This book brings together both new material and recent surveys on some topics in differential equations that are either directly relevant to, or closely associated with, mathematical physics. Its topics include asymptotic formulas for the ground-state energy of fermionic gas, renormalization ideas in quantum field theory from perturbations of the free Hamiltonian on the circle, $J$-selfadjoint Dirac operators, spectral theory of Schrodinger operators, inverse problems, isoperimetric inequalities in quantum mechanics, Hardy inequalities, and non-adiabatic transitions. Excellent survey articles on Dirichlet-Neumann inverse problems on manifolds (by Uhlmann), numerical investigations associated with Laplacian eigenvalues on planar regions (by Trefethen), Snell's law and propagation of singularities in the wave equation (by Vasy), random operators on tree graphs (by Aizenmann) make this book interesting and valuable for graduate students, young mathematicians, and physicists alike.