Book Description

This volume contains the written articles corresponding to the more than fifty invited presentations. Most of these articles provide current reviews of the status of various aspects of the field and are written by acknowledged experts. Topics include: historical reviews; atoms, molecules; solids and surfaces; highly charged ions; nuclear effects; fundamental physics; imaging and medical applications; as well as new sources and techniques. ... Read more

Book Description

Few technical manuals have become standards in biomedicine. Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, by Ed Harlow and David Lane, has had that status for a decade. Now there is a new and even higher standard—Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual.

Harlow and Lane have completely revised their guide to the use of immunoglobulin reagents in the laboratory. Chapters have been entirely rewritten, reorganized, and updated to provide background, context, and step-by-step instructions for techniques that range from choosing the right antibody and handling it correctly, to the proper methods for characterizing antigens in cells and solutions. New chapters on tagging proteins and epitope mapping are included.

Rather than presenting an array of solutions for working with antibodies and antigens, Using Antibodies instead identifies in each case the best approach to specific problems. These recommendations include more detail in the protocols, extensive advice on avoiding and solving problems, information regarding proper controls, and extensive illustration of theory, methods, and results, both good and bad. An additional bonus included with this manual is a set of Portable Protocols, step-by-step instructions for the most frequently used and essential techniques printed on spill-proof, durable cards that can be annotated and used directly at the bench.

The expert advice in Using Antibodies is presented using an imaginative design with extensive use of color and graphic elements calculated to help readers plan and execute their experiments efficiently and accurately. A newly available type of binding will maintain the manual's integrity during years of use. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Should be [less money], Not [more money]!
Although I liked the outdated 1988 version of this book, this one is extremely simplistic and omits much of the previously included material. Most of the information included can be found on the web and is shallow compared to Current Protocols or other texts. Although it serves as a reasonable introduction for novices to this area it's extremely overpriced for [money]!!!

I would reccomend Monoclonal Antibodies by Goding ([money]),

Two Thumbs Up
This is an exceptional reference for anyone using abtibodies in the laboratory. It is a *must-have* for anyone venturing into unknown teritory. For the experienced individual forced to bang out new protocols with a cranky antibody, this reference is priceless. ... Read more

Book Description

The importance of accurate sample preparation techniques cannot be overstated--meticulous sample preparation is essential.  Often overlooked, it is the midway point where the analytes from the sample matrix are transformed so they are suitable for analysis.  Even the best analytical techniques cannot rectify problems generated by sloppy sample pretreatment.

Devoted entirely to teaching and reinforcing these necessary pretreatment steps, Sample Preparation Techniques in Analytical Chemistry addresses diverse aspects of this important measurement step.  These include:

• State-of-the-art extraction techniques for organic and inorganic analytes
• Sample preparation in biological measurements
• Sample pretreatment in microscopy
• Surface enhancement as a sample preparation tool in Raman and IR spectroscopy
• Sample concentration and clean-up methods
• Quality control steps

Designed to serve as a text in an undergraduate or graduate level curriculum, Sample Preparation Techniques in Analytical Chemistry also provides an invaluable reference tool for analytical chemists in the chemical, biological, pharmaceutical, environmental, and materials sciences. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Magnetometer Reference
This book in including everything has no meat about anything. References are presented in lieu of in depth analysis. A good starting point and a wealth of references.

Magnetometer reference text
Ripka has written the best and most comprehensive book, to date, on Magnetic field sensing. We are a manufacturer of leading edge fluxgate magnetometers and I consider this required reading for our new engineers. A "must have" for the reference library of any engineer working in the field of magnetic instrumentation.

Bill Billingsley, Billingsley Magnetics Brookeville, Maryland

MagBible for MagMan
There are many books and publications on magnetometers and their applications. Each book is written about miracles of the one method of magnetic field measurement. The book about all for the first time has appeared! I think the experts will be convinced that his method is the best. The fans can compare and choose the best. This book will handbook for everyone who distinguishes Mag and Mag. ... Read more

Book Description

Explores the central role played by the galaxy in both ancient and modern times in the transformation of the human spirit.
* Extends Jenkins' groundbreaking research in Maya Cosmogenesis 2012.
* Reveals how the coming Galactic Alignment of era-2012 promises a renewal of human consciousness.
* Uncovers the galactic vision of Mayan, Egyptian, Greek, and Vedic cosmologies.

The Galactic Alignment is a rare astronomical event that brings the solstice sun into alignment with the center of the Milky Way galaxy every 12,960 years. Building on the discoveries of his book Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, Jenkins demonstrates that the end-date of 2012 does not signal the end of time but rather the beginning of a new stage in the development of human consciousness. He recovers a striking common thread that connects the ancient cosmological insights of the Maya not only to Egyptian thought and Vedic philosophy but also to the diversity of humankind's metaphysical traditions ranging from Celtic sacred topography and Medieval alchemy to the Kabbalah and Islamic astrology. His work presents us with a groundbreaking synthesis of lost wisdom once common to ancient cosmologies that will help us understand the significance of this transformative cosmic milestone. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Jenkins Best Work
The conclusion of this book is the reason you won't find this book at B&N or borders or ANY bookstore for that matter. This conclusion, that we are between the years 2000 and 2012, going through the Galactic Equator Plane aligned with the central sun of the Milky WAy, which happens every 30 MILLION YEARS (which occurs 8 times in a Galactic Year of 250 million years). This conclusions disproves the central theme and flawed conclusion of "Catastrophobia" by clow, that we have 11,500 years ago passed through the galactic plane thereby averting the "every 30 million year catastrophe the earth goes through" has already happened. This book is worth your while to read, take my word on it.

if you are into apocalypse/earth changes(2012)!!
The book is about the coming changes to our consciousness in the next age.The author's theory is that the stories through the ages about the end of the world are not what is really going to happen,but that we will change as a species,on a mental level.Every 26,000 years our sun is in alignment with the very center of our galaxy.the center of the galaxy is connected to everything that revolves around it.For a long time our world has been in a down cycle,very low consciousness,greed,anger materialism.There was a time (our golden age)when we were in a up cycle,when our world/consciousness was connected to this nucleus/life force.The book goes into detail about astrological alignments and the old religions that new about this connection to our consciousness.This knowledge has trickled down to our times through things like the occult and meditation teachings,but has become distorted.It made me think about why it seems that the world is going crazy(lots of medicated people out there!),and that this is part of the effect before the 2012/new age changing.It might also explain why more and more people are experiencing paranormal stuff and becoming more spiritual,and the tensions for war are also building.It got me to read some more books on this subject.Instead of doom and gloom about coming earth changes the author's theory gives us some light at the end of the tunnel. ... Read more

Book Description

"This book offers a broad spectrum of research methodologies within one text that is easy to understand. Thomas examines educational research as a series of simple and complex questions. This integrated presentation of research methodologies makes this a unique text."
Roxana Della Vecchia, Assistant Dean, College of Education
Towson University

"This book should reside in the library of anyone who has a serious interest in doing research in any of the social sciences, or in any of dozens of application areas such as health education, nursing, social work, evaluation, etc."
Norvell Northcutt, Sr. Lecturer, Department of Educational Administration
University of Texas at Austin

Maximize the best of both worlds in your thesis or dissertation with mixed-methods research!

The first of its kind, this comprehensive guide offers the only resource that responds to the growing trend of combining qualitative and quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations. It thoroughly discusses a wide array of methods, the strengths and limitations of each, and how they can be effectively interwoven into various research designs.

Aimed at empowering students with the information necessary to choose the best approach to fit their needs, the user-friendly text outlines numerous research options from varying viewpoints, and highlights the procedures involved with putting each method into practice.

Additional special features include:

• 20 examples of thesis and dissertation proposals that masterfully mix qualitative and quantitative methods in diverse ways
• Tips on how to publish research results
• Techniques for collecting data and interpreting results for qualitative and quantitative methods
• Tools for identifying which method is most appropriate for answering certain kinds of research questions

Book Description

Excerpted in The New Yorker and hailed by the business press, The Predictors is destined to become a classic of its generation--an antic, subversive odyssey into a universe defined by the mystical convergence of physics and finance.

How could a couple of rumpled physicists in sandals and Eat-the-Rich T-shirts, piling computers into an adobe house in Santa Fe, hope to take on the masters of the universe from Morgan Stanley? Doyne Farmer and Norman Packard may never have read The Wall Street Journal, but they happen to be among the founders of the new sciences of chaos and complexity. Who better to try to find order in the apparently unreasoned chaos of the global financial markets? Thomas A. Bass takes us inside their start-up company, following it from its inception as a motley collection of longhaired Ph.D.s to its passage into the centers of financial power, where "the predictors" find investors and finally go live with real money. The Predictors is a dizzying, often hilarious tale of genius and greed.
... Read more

Reviews (32)

Anticlimatic
I am a trader. I traded in the pits for years. I traded over-the-counter. Futures and options, vanilla and exotic. I also hold degrees in physics and electrical engineering from MIT. I was hoping to relate to the characters in this book. I didn't at all.

First, my comments on the book as a story. I was interested at first, but was struggling to get through the last third of the book, as characters were developed that seemed like little more than filler. I tired of the endless descriptions of wardrobe and scenery. And, in the end, we don't really find out what happened. Some reviewers complain about lack of technical detail. The book was obviously not written as a scientific treatise, but as a story, so those readers really have no reason to be disappointed in that aspect.

Secondly, my thoughts about the science and the scientists featured in the book. Nonlinear dynamic systems have been studied by all Wall Street firms, even at the time Prediction Co. was doing it. I actually have a fair amount of distaste for this whole subject. What it amounts to is traders, banks, uber investors, etc. looking for the next quick money making opportunity within the latest development (fad some might say) in informational science. That in and of itself is not a bad thing, but a reasonable quest. The reason most of these kinds of endeavors fail is that unification of Wall Street and academia can only be successful if the researchers or modelers have a firm grasp of BOTH worlds. The models ultimately fail because what is really being modelled is human psychology and reaction. Numbers alone do not tell the tale. There is no (legal) way of knowing that the trader at MS just had a blow up with his risk advisor and is angrily dumping his yen position inefficiently, and that UBS knows MS is also long calls so they begin crushing call volatility since they know MS will liquidate them as well. Sure, a chart may have predicted a squeeze, but the details of the actual trading couldn't have been prophesied. Prediction Co. was running thousands of models? This should be the first tip off that they had no idea what the principal components of the market were. They were shooting in the dark.

This was a perfect example of banker types with no technical prowess whatsoever trying to work with ivory tower types with no street savvy. It doesn't work. "Well, traders and quants work together in most trading firms." True, but this is different because there was no established program or models that the quants were running. This was fly by the seat of the pants almost. While I admire the accomplishments of these researchers in academic realms, they were definitely not cut out to be businessmen with their communistic, hippy, and honestly, somewhat lazy, approach to life. Yes, some succeed, you have your accasional Bill Gates (although I would argue he was extremely business-headed), but not many. Look at the dot-com debacle. Same story.

Lastly, do you really think that anyone who truly tapped into the Holy Grail of trading would actually allow a book to be written about it?

You would learn a thing or two,
Well I picked up the book as I am interested in complexity science. Most of the reviews here are quite harsh, and probably it was bad expectations management on writer's / publisher's part.

Even though the book sometimes is promoted as an investing book, it is not. It is not meant for day traders who just expect to discover next holy grail of financial markets reading such books. There is no holy grail in markets, but thats another thing. With that said, it may be clear that it is not a TRADING / INVESTIING book.

The book is story of two renowned physicists turning to use their physics, specifically chaos theory, to model financial market. The story part is dealt with great care. I am sure you learn a thing or two reading this book. This book was quite reasy to read and time I spent reading was worth more than had I spent reading a Grisham novel or watching some stupid soap on TV. It is real life here folks.

Bass is not a novelist so I did not expect him write a literary piece here. He has written a true story in a very good way and struggle of Farmer and Packard in estabilshing a company and utilizing their knowldge in a productive way is very cleverly depicted. There are tonnes of other relevant information that come and go, and an intelligent reader would surely pick something here. There is a lot of current history explored here.

With that said, this is NOT a book for the NEXT TRADING SYSTEM, nor does it preach that their system was PERFECT.

Interesting Topic not Handled Well
I agree with many of the other reviewers. This book is 90% filler. Instead of discussing the topic at hand, we are repeatedly bombarded with a desciption of the weather, the El Paso fiesta season, etc... This is a story about a group of (in my opinion, uninteresting) characters, and not a book on Investing or Science. Not recommended.

Another book about a start-up
This book is less about the market and more about the personal relationships and dealings of a business start-up. I'm surprised that the book lists its category as BUSINESS/SCIENCE when truly it lies in the former. I guess mentioning chaos theory, neural networks and genetic algorithms was all that was needed.

Regardless, it was an entertaining story about a group of physicists, being totally ignorant of the market, decide that they can predict the market. The storyline follows what I would consider typical of any start-up; the fights, arguments, doubts, meetings galore, etc... As I said, entertaining but not too much different from any other story about a start-up.

My two biggest complaints:

1) The back cover from the San Francisco Chronicle calls this book "one of the best books ever written about commodities, currency, and derivatives trading." I don't think they even read the book since this book isn't about trading but all about the traders.

2) The over use of descriptive fashion and landscape. I lost track of how many times we needed to be told who was wearing what and how blue the sky was in Santa Fe. It really got annoying after awhile.

Full of adventure
Interesting adventures, better than the Hardy Boys! On one page Doyne's replacing the differential in his old van in the desert, several pages later he's suited up (unwillingly, presumably) dueling intellectually with the experts at Goldman-Sachs. In between he's writing checks to keep the fledgling company alive. Like I said, beats Hardy Boys hands down! Bass includes a good description of neo-classical economics ideas, still widely believed by many economicsts far and wide, as in the case of the failed LTCM, not to mention Enron, the IMF, world Bank, and US advisors to Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, thailand, Russia, .... . Significantly, LTCM was guided in part by two Nobel Prize winning neo-classical economists who characteristically proceded implicitly as if there would be 'springs' in the market to enforce the 'no arbitrage' assumption at long (but not too-long...) times. I personally don't believe that the future can be forecast reliably, but then according to a member of The Company they found a small (few %) advantage and sold it to UBS. A gambler with a small bankrole would suffer the gamblers' ruin while trying to bet on such weak correlations. Actually, the hat on the cover looks vaguely familiar, but then what's in a hat? ... Read more

Book Description

J.W.Dunne ("Intrusions?," "The Jumping Lions of Borneo," "Serial Universe") first published his ground-breaking theory of time in 1927.Spurred by dreams and other personal experiences to an intense interest in the nature of time and human perception, Dunne designed an experiment whose purpose was to isolate the barrier dividing our knowledge of the past from that of the future.Conversant with the concepts and language of physics - which he deemed inadequate to describe a world that is largely experiential - Dunne weaves an intriguing, intelligent, and convincing theory that has earned him a place of honor among the twentieth century's brightest minds.

- Brilliant theory that puts Dunne in the ranks of Einstein, Hawking, and other pioneers of physics and consciousness research

- A scientific experiment to probe the nature of time and the barrier dividing knowledge of the past and future

- Contains one of the first scientific arguments for human immortality

- Explores the relationship between dreams, time, perception, and reality

- As original and thought-provoking today as it was three quarters of a century ago ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The forgotten and fantastic.
In this gem first published in 1927, John W. Dunne puts forth a theory of multidimensional consciousness which manifests itself mainly in the "Dream effect". A mathematician and aeronautical pioneer, Dunne found himself having precognitive experiences throughout his adult life. His dreams would come true. Often times the very next day and in rich detail. I am myself mathematicly inclined, and can only ponder at the discomfort this would have created to a scientist of such a logical mind.

And surely enough, he spent the rest of his life seeking an answer to the riddle.
In "An experiment with time", he reveals his startling conclusions, which are based in deductive reasoning and experiments.
By applying the concept of regression in human consciousness and time to the results of the experimental work he finds an answer to the problem of apparent psychic abilities in his more or less ramdomly chosen subjects.
Not only that; he thereby also explains the phenomena of deja vu and many cases of clairvoyance, common precognition, ESP and many other "paranormal" occurances.
It is important to note that this theory, which I can only describe as analogous to the theory of general relativity in its ingenuity and brilliance, have NEVER been disproven in its 77 year history.
Furthermore there is no known physical law or concept that would disallow the "dream effect", even today.
The pieces of the puzzle, therefore, fits uncannily well in the map of the eye-opening reality that Dunne unfolds.
Towards the end, Dunne takes the theory even further to prepose the exsistance of an eternal multidimensional concsiousness and a higher, supreme consciousness, which it has to be said, I find rather speculative and philosophical. However, It is an extrapolation that is not wholly unnatural, at least in case of the seamingly immortal qualities of human serial consciousness.

This piece is in my mind one of the most important books of the last century, and almost tragic that so few know of it. This is in part, I think, due to the non-scientific material which it brushes up against, but ultimately deciphers for the first time.

As to the question of whether or not it is psuedo-science: The experiments can be repeated at all times in any laboratory with any subjects, and from that, the same results have so far been found. These are the parameters which define scientific research. And the more experiments are conducted, the more probable Dunne's conclusions are.

This book is exeptionally engaging to anyone interested in these matters. Its my all-time favorite non-fiction piece and I can only recommend it, so that awereness of the theory increases.

A classic study of precognitive dreams
The reader who was "sickened" by this book apparently didn't notice that it was written about 80 years ago. That reader also missed a central historical point: People have been reporting precognitive dreams for a very, very long time and trying to grapple with how to understand them in scientific terms for about a century. Dunne was one of the first to write about his experiences, and his training as an engineer led him to a thoughtful series of analyses and fledgling theories. Anyone who has had precognitive experiences will find this book interesting. But if you strongly believe that such experiences are mere coincidences, or logically incoherent, or impossible, you should avoid this book because it will just make you angry.

Sickening anti-scientific pseudo-science...!
It's sick that people are allowed to write such horrible material and spread incorrect idiotic misinformation. This guy uses pseudo-science to try to convince (feeble minded idiots) that dreams show you the future. After using flawed logic, twists of linguistics, and pseudo-science to make this claim, he actually goes on to claim this proves God exists.

This is a horrible horrible book. This should get NEGATIVE stars for using incorrect misinformation to try to convince people of false claims.

These are the type of people who ruin humanity for the rest of us.

Glad it's back in print!
I've been borrowing this book from the library for many many years. I'm ecstatic I can finally have my own copy!

I still don't know how I feel about Dunne's theory----basically, that our dreams are memories from the future. But it's something that makes sense (no matter how far fetched it sounds....) and it's something that I'd *like* to believe.

A regular person can easily understand the text; it's not all heavy-handed scientific terms. An enjoyable read.

Very insightful yet flawed.
Dunne is onto something very important. The first half of the book is easy to follow and very insightful. It is an important work that, in my opinion, successfully demonstrates the precognotive nature of some dreams. I am perhaps more easily convinced than others as I too have had similar experiences. However, Dunne goes beyond proving the existance of such dreams and attempts to explain how and why they happen. The infinite regress argument seems to be flawed. He claims it to be proof of God's existance. I do not feel that he has successfully proven this theory about the how and why of time. For a very good analysis of Dunne's theory, see "Man and Time" by J.B. Priestly. Regardless, "An Experiment with Time" is a very important book that attempts to take an objective view on a very subjective subject. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An encyclopedia of meta-analysis
This book is the best overall work on meta-analysis and research synthesis that has appeared in the past decade.All of its chapters are clearly written, and the data sets that are provided to illustrate the various techniques are extremely helpful. A lot of work went into the development of this book, and it shows.

Excellent "How To" Manual
For anyone interested in doing research synthesis, meta-analysis, or even a literature review, this is a "must have" in your collection. Various researchers present quite helpful information to save time, sweat, and tears in the process ... Read more

Book Description

Appropriate for all courses in statistical methods for the agricultural, life, health, and environmental sciences, this book offers a practical and modern approach that minimizes computation and emphasizes conceptual understanding. Rao continually emphasizes issues and topics most relevant to modern day research in the life sciences. For example, point and interval estimation take priority over testing of statistical hypothesis and methods and guidelines for determination of sample size are indicated whenever possible. Statistical Research Methods in the Life Sciences also presents a self-contained and complete discussion of each experimental situation considered. In the two-sample setting, for example, in addition to presenting the procedures under the usual analysis of variance assumption, Rao also presents methods for checking the validity of the assumptions. ... Read more

Book Description

"Chemists familiar with conventional quantum mechanics will applaud and benefit greatly from this particularly instructive, thorough and clearly written exposition of density functional theory: its basis, concepts, terms, implementation, and performance in diverse applications. Users of DFT for structure, energy, and molecular property computations, as well as reaction mechanism studies, are guided to the optimum choices of the most effective methods. Well done!"
Paul von Ragué Schleyer

"A conspicuous hole in the computational chemist's library is nicely filled by this book, which provides a wide-ranging and pragmatic view of the subject.[...It] should justifiably become the favorite text on the subject for practitioners who aim to use DFT to solve chemical problems."
J. F. Stanton, J. Am. Chem. Soc.

"The authors' aim is to guide the chemist through basic theoretical and related technical aspects of DFT at an easy-to-understand theoretical level. They succeed admirably."
P. C. H. Mitchell, Appl. Organomet. Chem.

"The authors have done an excellent service to the chemical community. [...] A Chemist's Guide to Density Functional Theory is exactly what the title suggests. It should be an invaluable source of insight and knowledge for many chemists using DFT approaches to solve chemical problems."
M. Kaupp, Angew. Chem.


... Read more

Reviews (1)

DFT for chemists!
Computational and Theoretical chemists concerned with the applications of canonical quantum chemistry (molecular orbital) methods to chemically interesting problems know too well how (computationally) demanding is going beyond the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation by employing the so called post-HF methods. Hence, very often they must resort on using Density Functional Theory (DFT). Here, however, they need to confront themselves with the terminology invented by their physics collegues: Kohn-Sham orbitals, Fermi hole, local and non-local spin-density functionals, generalized gradient approximation, pseudopotentials, and so forth. Any terminology is associated to a certain model of thought, which requires lot of efforts to be fully comprehended.
The book of Koch and Holthausen represents a praiseworthy attempt of presenting the basic concepts of DFT to research chemists. This 300-pages book is organized in two parts and it contains 13 chapters. Part A is concerned with the definition of the (DFT) model, while Part B discusses the performance of the model in dealing with molecular structures, vibrational frequencies, thermochemical, electrical and magnetic properties, H-bonds, and chemical reactivity. A rich bibliography is appended at the end of the book. Clearly written and logically organized, this book can be considered "THE Chemists's Guide to DFT" and it deserves five stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Plant Tissue Culture, Second Edition provides laboratory exercises in plant tissue culture that demonstrate major educational concepts. The experiments can be conducted with a variety of plant materials that are available year round from easily accessible sources. This course book will give students diverse learning experiences in a semester course. New and experienced plant scientists in agriculture, university, and industry settings will also find this concise manual to be of great value.

Key Features
* Presents unique laboratory exercises using a variety of plant materials and step-by-step protocols
* Provides detailed line drawings that complement both introductions and experiments
* Includes supplementary sections
* Scheduling and interrelationships of exercises for teachers
* Tissue culture laboratory setup
* Supplies, media, and explant preparation
* Measurements
* Glossary of terms
* Exercises rigorously tested for practicality through years of course use
* Contains two new chapters
* History of Plant Cell Culture by Trevor Thorpe
* Woody Plants and Shrubs by Brent McCown
* Adaptable by teachers, students, researchers, and technicians ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Coming from somewhere small and become one of the greatest
If you like reading biographies and you happen to like the history of natural sciences as well, it is a must.

I found it very sad that most of these scientist could not make it in Hungary, but it is not hard to see why. Hungary was/is a very small country and these people were just too clever to stay within the borders. They fled where their mind find the nurturing soil for the seeds of their ideas.

Not a lot of people know that these people were actually Hungarians, because they became known under different names of their originals.
However, they did their very best to move science forward as the origins were less important than their lifetime achievements....

Also their lifes can be taken as examples for the young minds that you just have to go further if you do not succeed at the first place to pursue your ideas and you can become one of the greatest too..... ... Read more

Book Description

Jacques Cousteau explored the oceans' deepest fathoms. The crew of the space shuttle punched through the Earth's atmosphere and into a space of infinite dimensions. Possessed with the same spirit, France Bourély takes readers on a breathtaking visual odyssey far beyond the reaches of the naked eye with her scanning electron microscope. She travels lunar landscapes on the back of an ant, explores secret valleys in orchid petals, scales the pistils of a daisy, crosses mountains made of pollen, discovers crevices on the back of a caterpillar, and takes shelter under a bush of bristles.

France Bourély can be described as a philosopher, a scientist, an artist, and a navigator all at once. This amazing book opens the door to a hidden paradise, revealing the visual virtuosity and the startling beauty of the microscopic dimension that surrounds us all. By transporting us to the lands of the unseen, Bourély seeks to awaken our senses and transform the way we perceive our infinitely complex and always harmonious universe. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Stunning + Inspiring
Talking a tour through this book is every bit as exciting as exploring new realms. Ms. Bourley had carefully considered her career options and among them were astronaut. Then her focus (literally!) took an unexpected turn. She discovered the depths in the ordinary that surround us. Her travels far, far into inner worlds are amazing and truly uplifting. To see the symmetry and beauty of such teensy tiny wholly seperate beings and things is to speak to the wondrous possibilities of the simple (and even inspirational) joys in seeing not totally unfamiliar patterning on such a miniscule scale. I come away thinking "everything is significant.". The calm in that is worth the price of admission. Along the same lines is a movie entitled "Microcosms". I suggest you look for it. You'll like that, too.

Stunning, Visionary Book!
As a physicist (by profession), and amateur photographer (in my free time) I must say that I have *never* encountered a finer example of a synergy of art and science (not to mention philosophy) displayed than what awaits the lucky reader who purchases this extraordinary book. Some of the images, on a purely aesthetic level, rank (in my humble opinion) with some of the great abstract photographs that have **ever** been taken! Indeed, I am tempted to equate what Dr. Bourely has accomplished here to what Ansel Adams accomplished for the American West with his magnificent large format photography. What Adams represents for the macroscopic world, Dr. Bourely represents for the microscopic one. She is *that* good...as a guide, as a scientist, as photographer, and as a visionary.

Quite simply this is one of the most beautiful books I've ever had the pleasure of owning and I shall treasure it for a long, long time to come. If you love photography, or science, or abstraction, or philosophy, or ever simply marvel at the ineffable mystery we call the universe, you owe it to yourself to get this book. It is destined to be a classic. ... Read more

Book Description

This new edition of the successful calendars book expands the treatment of the previous edition to new calendar variants. It frames the calendars of the world in a completely algorithmic form. The authors describe fourteen calendars and how they relate to one another: the present civil calendar (Gregorian), the recent ISO commercial calendar, the old civil calendar (Julian), the Coptic and (virtually identical) Ethiopic calendars, the Islamic (Moslem) calendar; the Baha'i, the Hebrew (Jewish) calendar, the Mayan calendars, the French Revolutionary calendar, the Chinese calendar, and both the old (mean) and new (true) Hindu (Indian) calendars. Easy conversion among these calendars is a by-product of the approach, as is the determination of secular and religious holidays. Calendrical Calculations makes accurate calendrical algorithms readily available for computer use with LISP and Java code for all the algorithms included on CD, and updates available on the Web. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great for calendars - Legal issues in using code
I highly recommend the book if you are interested in calendars as a hobby. If you are using this book for a project I suggest you look at this soley as a reference, since you will have to look elsewhere to have something you can use. The bibliography included is a good source.

The details and discussions of how they approach problems like the visibility of sunset are amazing and really opened my eyes to the difficulties of creating an accurate calendar under different systems. This book covers everything I could think of and quite a few ideas I would never consider.

I would give it 5 stars, except that the code and algorythms provided in the book are copyrighted and can not be used without explicit permission of the authors. I contacted the authors for a project I had, but it was determined that I could not use their algorithms since I intended to release under GNU license.

Good, but pseudocode hard to swallow
This books teaches you a lot of about the mathematics
that needs to go behind calculations to determine date/time,
and is truly a must-read book for people who want to
write such software.

However, I did find the equations hard to adopt for my
own use, partially because the pseudocode fails to show
exactly what the units were. For example, on the later
chapters where one must take into account planetary
position and such, it is extremely hard to find out
exactly what each variable/number represent if you're
not already very familiar with the subject. I believe
most of the definitions are in fact in the book *somewhere*,
but they are buried deep. This makes it extremely cumbersome and
time consuming for the reader to actually try to
implement the calculations.

If the notation can be improved a bit, I think it would
be even better book.

Fascinating
All you ever wanted to know about calendrical stuff.

Super
Super! Better than the first edition: give it 6 stars.

Everything you ever wanted to know about calendars!
The first edition was a masterpiece, but this one is evenbetter! I've been involved in proof reading the new edition, and I'veread the final draft. There are lots of popular books out there about calendars and the history of calendars. Unfortunately, most of them are filled with mistakes, especially when they talk about non-European calendars. The purpose of this book is to both give reliable information about the different calendars and to provide software for calendrical computations. My own field is the Chinese calendar, and this is one of only two books that gets it right (the other is the Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac). If you want to get the facts, there's no other comparable book. Remember to check out the web site of the authors to get the software and check out the applets. END ... Read more

Book Description

From the bestselling, National Book Award-nominated auhtor of Genius and Chaos, a bracing new work about the accelerating pace of change in today's world.

Most of us suffer some degree of "hurry sickness." a malady that has launched us into the "epoch of the nanosecond," a need-everything-yesterday sphere dominated by cell phones, computers, faxes, and remote controls. Yet for all the hours, minutes, and even seconds being saved, we're still filling our days to the point that we have no time for such basic human activities as eating, sex, and relating to our families. Written with fresh insight and thorough research, Faster is a wise and witty look at a harried world not likely to slow down anytime soon. ... Read more

Reviews (95)

Not Gleick's best
This seems like the perfect topic for the times. The cover is catchy, the writer excels at making seemingly abstract topics topical (Chaos is superb) and he's gives great NPR. The first chapter or two, which I read before buying the book, was mesmerizing. That made my disappointment with Faster all the greater.

Gleick writes a series of great short newspaper-length stories, binds them together and calls it a book. To be sure, there is a bevy of fascinating factoids here. But Gleick never really creates a thesis and never really advances any particular argument. Some of the scenes he paints are memorable, but nothing really holds them together as a book. I tried to overcome that by reading a chapter a day on the subway and not even that worked. It's almost like he's trying to write a "fast" book that the reader can zip through. Well, in that area he succeeds, but in so doing he fails to move the book in any particular direction.

Gleick is a well-known writer with a good track record. I'm sure sales of this book have been good. But I hope that doesn't stop someone else from tackling a similar subject.

Perceptive & Poignant.
James Gleick's Faster is well written, and even though the things he says may not be what some want to hear, his claims are all backed up with facts. This book was written in 1999, and so far things are unfolding just as he claims they will, ever faster.

Sometimes he dawdles over certain points for too long and seems like an old crank, but the emphasis is necessary. He makes a several references to how people will continually push the elevator door close button to shave seconds off their wait.
No longer are there elevator operators, they took too up too much time by being polite.

If you feel like you never have enough hours in the day, even though modern conveniences should be giving us more free time, then this is a book you should read. The pace of the writing emphasizes the theme of this book as he jumps from topic to topic trying to cover as much as possible without losing your attention. As a society we are a Type-A personality, always trying to get things faster, whatever that may cost us in the long run.

Breezy. Fast. And bright yellow.
Aha! We knew it all along! Life, work, off-time - 'things' - just seem a hell of a lot faster these days. Those of us with typical 21st century urban, technology led lifestyles are all too familiar with the constant background noise of accelerated living. In Faster, Gleick amasses a mixed bag of armchair philosophy, anecdotal antics and random research to document our strangely mercurial existence.

And a mixed bag it is indeed. The book shines best when Gleick exposes in detail those 'hidden' time-saving procedures that underpin our everyday lives. The passage on telephone directory enquiries, where we discover the drive to shave mere milliseconds from customer's inbound requests, is a real eye-opener. As is the revelation that time-saving procedures have even encroached on the age old traditions of the leisurely 9-inning baseball game. And who would have thought that a restaurant in Tokyo now offers an all-you-can-eat service charging customers by the minute? Dining by time-clock? Well, thanks, but no thanks.

Still, I would have liked to have seen these sketches gather momentum and lead to a more cogent line of thought. Instead, they simply drift away and what remains is an assortment of charming but ultimately unsubstantial tales. Nothing more, nothing less. Readers looking for a more protracted cultural analysis, a deeper probe into psychological aetiology, or a broader review of our collective existential malaise will likely be disappointed.

So, It's hardly a radical premise. And there's no real conclusion to speak of; no pulling together of the various threads that weave through this work. But as a collection of interesting hors d'oeuvres and after-dinner anecdotes, this is an entertaining enough read which - thankfully - requires a not considerable investment of time nor energy. Bloody good job too, as I had to cook supper and pay my gas bill online at the same time.

Mind candy
I listened to it on the way to work so I could do two things at once. How ironic...

This is a good book to kill time, you may even laugh at yourself as you discover your own habits revealed and explained before your very eyes. I did

The elevator door close button and the double button microwave cooking methods to save time tid bits are very funny!! As well as the "500 calories a day you starve 3000 a day you are as fat as a pig"

You have to make time to read this.
How can we fit all the things we need to do into the 24 hours of each day and still leave time for the things we want to do, and have to do? The truth is we just can't and James Gleick dissects our typical day in a humorous and informative way to demonstrate how we can't possibly have time to read his book. This is much, much more approachable than 'Chaos' and you should 'make time' to give this your full attention and read it from cover to cover. ... Read more

Book Description

Radiotelemetry and Animal Populations is a succinct synthesis ofemerging technologies and their applications to the empirical and theoretical problems of population assessment. The book is divided into sections designed to encompass the various aspects of animal ecology that may be evaluated using radiotelemetry technology - experimental design, equipment and technology, animal movement, resource selection, and demographics. Wildlife biologists at the leading edge of new developments in the technology and its application have joined forces. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Radio Tracking and Animal Populations
Radio tracking and animal populations covers all aspects of radio tracking wild animals, from designing the study right through to analyzing results and drawing conclusion from the findings. I have found this book to be the most comprehensively referenced, and in depth piece of literature on radio tracking that I have managed to locate so far.
I have constantly used this book while carrying out a telemetry study as the research for my masters degree, and recommend this book as the ideal starting point for anyone considering carying out a radio tracking study of wild animals.
My only regret concerning this book is that I didn't come across it earlier in my studies.

Good review
This a good review of radio telemetry techniques and applications. ... Read more

Book Description

This work shows that information is at the root of all fields of science. These fields may be generated by use of the concept of "extreme physical information" or EPI. The book greatly expands the material in Physics from Fisher Information to include many other areas in science. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Clarifying physics
"Physics from Fisher Information" is a unification, indeed. The author derives the physical laws for such different fields as quantum mechanics, classical electromechanics, general relativity and statistical mechanics from the single powerful principle of Extreme Physical Information (EPI). This principle probably goes deeper than merely a mathematical similarity between the laws, which as such already helps to grasp the full picture of physics. Personally, I think it's a pity this clarifying book was not written yet when I was a student of physics. To miss this book, is to miss something essential.

Well-written and important, but keep math texts handy
This is a compilation of Roy Frieden's work in major physics journals over the last decade deriving the basic laws of physics - relativistic quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, gravitation, statistical thermodynamics - from a quantity (used by mathematical statisticians and by hardly anyone else) called Fisher Information. He derives the Klein-Gordon equation, Schroedinger wave equations, Maxwell's equations, DeWitt-Wheeler law of quantum gravity, and various statistical thermodynamics laws. Whew. Basically, while folks have focused in the past on Shannon information and entropy (all global measures), Frieden's worked on Fisher information which is a local measure (e.g. based on a derivative). Optimization of functionals of Fisher information gives differential equations as results, which become laws of physics. Cute.

Anyone with a Bachelors in Engineering would have been exposed to enough physics to understand what Frieden has done. The mathematics is at senior-level math/grad level engineering level. Well-written and not at all cryptic, Frieden goes out of his way to motivate his arguments. In fact, Roy spends 100 pages in preparation and discussion before he even gets to his first real derivation.

Operations Researchers (like me), Applied Mathematicians, EE Control Theory types and Statisticians will find the mathematics pretty comfortable...even if we don't understand all the physics implications. Philosophical types with strong math backgrounds can profitably wade through the text just to get a flavor of his arguments.

Cambridge *really* wanted to publish this textbook. They even included Frieden's umm..errr...interesting pencil sketches of himself and other luminaries. Check out the New Scientist archives for an article in January 1999 on Frieden's work.

One warning. This is *not* light reading. Those looking for the "Tao of Fisher Information" will have to wait for some of us to write a pop sci version of his work. If you want to get a feeling for Frieden's work before you buy the book, read the articles "Estimation of distribution laws, and physical laws, by a principle of extremized physical information", Physica A, 198 (1993) 262-338 or "Lagrangians of physics and the game of Fisher-information transfer", Phys Rev E, 52(3), Sept 1995, 2274-2286.

Fisher knowledge is the only knowledge
With my advanced copy of this wonderful book, I can truly say that all physics ends here. I foresee every field of science laying down their texts and proclaiming this one as the end all be all. A must read for anyone. ... Read more