I have to admit I'm disappointed. I was hoping John Wheeler would finally get honored. Wheeler is one of the giants of American Physics in the 20th century. He's also 93 years old, and rules state that the Nobel prize must be given within the recipients' lifetime. Here's a link explaining what he's done:
http://www.usd.edu/phys/courses/phys300/gallery/clark/wheeler.html
Some have suggested that Wheeler and Stephen Hawking should share the Nobel prize for their work on black holes. At the risk of being morbid, both could be near the end of their lifetimes.
Wheeler has always been problematic for the Nobel comittee. Nobel laureates have traditionally been "hedgehogs" who have made one major contribution, but it is so enormous to science that it merits the prize. Wheeler, on the other hand, is a fox amongst scientists, who has made myriad contributions to various areas of physics, and although none of them have been "earth-shattering", he has prehaps the most impressive ciruculum vitae in the field, and the sum total of his contributions is great indeed.