Covering the years 2008-2012, this book profiles the life and work of recent winners of the Abel Prize:
·       John G. Thompson and Jacques Tits, 2008
·       Mikhail Gromov, 2009
·       John T. Tate Jr., 2010
·       John W. Milnor, 2011
·       Endre Szemerédi, 2012.
The profiles feature autobiographical information as well as a description of each mathematician's work. In addition, each profile contains a complete bibliography, a curriculum vitae, as well as photos — old and new. As an added feature, interviews with the Laureates are presented on an accompanying web site (http://extras.springer.com/).
The book also presents a history of the Abel Prize written by the historian Kim Helsvig, and includes a facsimile of a letter from Niels Henrik Abel, which is transcribed, translated into English, and placed into historical perspective by Christian Skau.
This book follows on The Abel Prize: 2003-2007, The First Five Years (Springer, 2010), which profiles the work of the first Abel Prize winners.