GRB 130427A is the brightest gamma-ray burst observed by any satellite in almost
30 years and one of the most thoroughly observed. I will present a summary of the
worldwide campaign to monitor the afterglow of this event from GHz to TeV energies
and from seconds to years after the explosion. Remarkably, the entire data set can be
described to good agreement using standard synchrotron afterglow theory, providing
strong support for the validity the basic model in describing the evolution of this event
and for GRB afterglows generally. Distinct forward and reverse shock components are
resolved in both the SED and multifrequency light curves; the late-time high-energy
emission seen by LAT is produced by the forward shock. We also infer a tenuous,
wind-stratified medium surrounding this burst, suggesting a massive, low-metallicity
progenitor. While GRB 130427A was an incredibly rare and fortuitous event its
properties are probably not intrinsically unusual, and it provides lessons for what
might be routinely achieved in the future with faster and deeper multiwavelength
follow-up of gamma-ray bursts