Book Description

The Gunpowder Epic is one of three planned publications on military technology within Dr Needham's immense undertaking. The discovery of gunpowder in China by the 9th century AD was followed by its rapid applications. It is now clear that the whole development from bombs and grenades to the invention of the metal-barrel hand gun took place in the Chinese culture area before Europeans had any knowledge of the mixture itself. Uses in civil engineering and mechanical engineering were equally important, before the knowledge of gunpowder spread to Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Dr Needham's new work continues to demonstrate the major importance of Chinese science and technology to world history and maintains the tradition of one of the great scholarly works of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Book Description

For the first time in paperback, here is a newly expanded edition of the best-selling book that was hailed as "setting a new standard" for quotation books. Tens of thousands of readers have enjoyed The Quotable Einstein and The Expanded Quotable Einstein, with translations into twenty-two languages. This updated edition--which appears on the 100th anniversary of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death--offers more than 300 new quotations, or over 1,200 altogether. Nearly all are by Einstein himself and a few are about the self-professed "lone wolf" Time magazine named "Man of the Century" at the turn of the millennium.

The New Quotable Einstein also includes a new section, "On Aging," and fresh material has been added to the appendix-from a touching account by Helen Dukas of Einstein's last days to a day-by-day summary of Johanna Fantova's telephone conversations with Einstein during the final year and a half of his life.

Also included are a poem called "Einstein," by Robert Service; and three virtually unknown verses to the song "As Time Goes By" (made famous in the movie Casablanca) that refer to Einstein. New photographs have been selected to introduce each section of the book.

Through well-documented quotations and supplementary information, The New Quotable Einstein provides a bigger and better biographical account of this multifaceted man-as son, husband, father, lover, scientist, philosopher, aging widower, humanitarian, and friend. It shows us even more vividly why the real and imagined Einstein continues to fascinate people across the world into the twenty-first century.

• 300-plus new quotations, more than 1,200 in all
• A day-by-day summary of Johanna Fantova's phone conversations with Einstein toward the end of his life
• A touching account of Einstein's last days
• A new section, "On Aging"
• Three virtually unknown original verses of the song "As Time Goes By" (from the movie Casablanca) that refer to Einstein
• Robert Service's poem "Einstein"

Reviews (1)

On the whole excellent
I was overjoyed when the first edition came out. Here in one small volume were many of Einstein's most famous lines.I was even happier when new expanded editions came out.I have used the book almost as an index to my collection of books about Einstein (and I have a dozen of them).

But I noticed one problem in the editing.In the first edition, in the chapter "On Religion, God, and Philosophy," Einstein is quoted as saying "I see only with deep regret that God punishes so many of his children for their numerous stupidities, for which only he can be held responsible; in my opinion, only his nonexistence could excuse him."In the "expanded" edition, the word "only" (the first one) was removed.Well, this changes the meaning a lot, given what we know about Einstein's denial of free will in man.With the word "only" removed, God's guilt is lightened, as though suggesting there are other culprits, but in so doing she also distorts Einstein's meaning.I was startled enough by this that I went to the science library at the University of Toronto, and double-checked Einstein's words in the multivolume "Collected Papers of Albert Einstein."The word "only" appears in both the German original ("nur") and the English translation.Over and over Eisntein denied that human beings have free will, and so objectively there is no one to blame for our crimes but God - if, as Einstein said, He even existed.

Initially I suspected the editor of deleting "only" deliberately - after all, the "censored" version appears in both the second and third editions.But I'm now satisfied that this was an honest editing error and I have been reassured that it will be corrected in the next edition.

On the whole, the quotes are quite reliable.And the sources are very wide, including not only Einstein's own collected papers but the Einstein Archive and other secondary writings (such as memoirs).There must be materials that may be new and interesting even to Einstein scholars.

In his foreword Freeman Dyson claims Einstein had a "darker side" - for example, with respect to his family.Well, I'm sorry, but Einstein never pretended he was a saint.He was in some ways only an ordinary human being with a very extraordinary brain.He was certainly no great father or husband.But Einstein never asked anyone to censor his biography for him, making him look better than he was.If he cheated his wife, he did so virtually openly.So I think Dyson's point is really pointless.Besides, the term "darker side" misleads people into thinking that Einstein must have done some evil deeds which he tried to keep away from view.Newton's deceitful conduct in the priority dispute certainly suggests a nasty side to his personality.Nothing of the kind was ever in Einstein's character or conduct.Einstein had a temper, and he could be grumpy, or sexist, or rude, or over-the-top in his words on occasion.And that's about as far as his "dark side" gets. So what?He never did anything remotely criminal or unethical or even deceitful, for those of us wondering what this "dark side" means.(Incidentally, Dyson's assertion that the Japanese show "exquisite taste" in admiring Einstein and Hawking defies common sense. It's not just the Japanese but the whole world over who have such "exquisite taste"; nor is it just Einstein and Hawking whom the Japanese admire. The Japanese admire all sorts of people, some of whom would not be considered terribly heroic by us.Dyson is a great mathematical physicist, but I'm familiar enough with Dyson's many writings to know this guy doesn't always say sensible things.)Returning to Dyson's foreword, his story about armed Israeli soldiers commandeering Einstein's files at Princeton, NJ on a dark and rainy Christmas night, possibly breaking American laws, while good enough for a cheap movie scene, sounds too fantastic to be believable.His implication is that Einstein's dirty laundry is now safely and deliberately hidden in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Unless you're a connoisseur of conspiracy theories, you can safely dismiss this notion.Unless the files are physically destroyed, archivists will dig them out sooner or later.There is no reason to believe that non-Israeli Einstein specialists are denied access to them.I can't say I'll never be surprised by new revelations, but I doubt any will be interesting enough by now because the most important of Einstein's deeds and words and beliefs are already well known.What's yet to be revealed is most likely not interesting enough.(If someone could somehow find a manuscript proving Mileva doing most of the original mathematical thinking in Special Relativity, that would be an example of interesting new revelations.)

This book is very good as a general introduction to Einstein the man and even to his physics to a limited extent.The quotes are well-chosen and cover a good range.On the other hand, I wouldn't call it an Einstein concordance.For one thing, it is too short to be any such thing.For another, only an expert about Einstein AND his physics - like Abraham Pais - is qualified to compile a "concordance."(It would help that this expert also knew Einstein personally, though this is perhaps not necessary.)

This book is thus not the real thing - but surely a handy enough substitute.Its merits still far outweigh its imperfections.Here in one handy volume you can find Einstein's views on wide range of subjects, from politics to women to pipesmoking to Germans and Jews and of course physics.Not all of us will agree with everything he said.But in my opinion, Einstein's insights in philosophy, the scientific method, and music are devastatingly penetrating.And this book gives a fair and representative sample of these.(For those of you who are really interested in Einstein's "darker side," look for his tough opinions on Germans.For me, Einstein's bitter views of Germans come closest to showing his so-called "darker" side.Close but not quite though.Given all those dumb things Germans did in his lifetime, who can blame him?)

Two indexes, one for subjects and another for key words, make this book particularly user-friendly.

Calaprice has done Einstein admirers like myself a fine service.And the timing of this edition is good.Not only is 2005 the 100th anniversary of Special Relativity (1905), but April 18, 2005 is also the 50th anniversary of Einstein's death.



... Read more

Book Description

PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES is a unique collection of competition problems from over twenty major national and international mathematical competitions for high school students. The discussion of problem solving strategies is extensive. It is written for trainers and participants of contests of all levels up to the highest level: IMO, Tournament of the Towns, and the noncalculus parts of the Putnam Competition.It will appeal to high school teachers conducting a mathematics club who need a range of simple to complex problems and to those instructors wishing to pose a "problem of the week", "problem of the month", and "research problem of the year" to their students, thus bringing a creative atmosphere into their classrooms with continuous discussions of mathematical problems.This volume is a must-have for instructors wishing to enrich their teaching with some interesting non-routine problems and for individuals who are just interested in solving difficult and challenging problems. Each chapter starts with typical examples illustrating the central concepts and is followed by a number of carefully selected problems and their solutions.Most of the solutions are complete, but some merely point to the road leading to the final solution.Very few problems have no solutions. Readers interested in increasing the effectiveness of the book can do so by working on the examples in addition to the problems thereby increasing the number of problems to over 1300.In addition to being a valuable resource of mathematical problems and solution strategies, this volume is the most complete training book on the market. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

This book has most topics that you see at an Olympiad
This book has a lot of topics that you see at a mathematical competition, like IMO. It has Number Theory, Geometry, Games, Combinatorics and many strategies to solve a difficult and exciting problem. I recommend this book for you.

A book for everyone who loves mathematics
I disagree with another reviewer(Math Messiah) who thinks this is a book only for intelligent people like himslf. The problems are wide ranging and numerous and even dumb people (me, for instance) can find fun and excitement in many of them. I also have an advice for the Math Messiah who is on brink of some major discoveries: hold on to that brink, and don't drop.

Excellent So Far
I have just started working on this book recently. I've been reading through and working on the problems in the number theory section which are excellent so far. There is a good balance between warm-up/basic training problems and hard contest problems so you won't be discouraged too easily. I have browsed through the other sections and they seem very good. Must have if you are preparing for math contests!

it was fun for reading :)
it was really good book to read and the solution of them are really good. i enjoyed to read these books:)

good book, if you want to be best like me you should buy it
I am best at mathematics. I have won several national titles in my country. I am at brink of discovering solutions to several unsolved problems in mathematics. I got good by competions against good young mathematicians. I think this book is very good for intelligent people, not dumb people. If you want to improve your problem solving you will buy this. ... Read more

Book Description

An oddly compelling, often hilarious forensic exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.

For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them. 13 b/w illustrations. ... Read more

Reviews (127)

wonderful book
This is a very entertaining and interesting book about human cadavers--what happens when you die, the history of dissection, the University of Tennessee "body farm," what dead bodies can tell you about airline crashes, how bodies are used for impact testing, flaws in Dr. Pierre Barbet's studies of crucifixion found by Frederick Zugibe, the process of "organ recovery" from "beating-heart cadavers" for transplants, the survival of severed heads (guillotine and transplantation), mummies and cannibalism, etc. Roach writes in a somewhat flippant style that somehow seems appropriate for the topic, it's never quite irreverent.
My only complaint: p. 126: Roach seems to think that the FAA should force the implementation of safety measures that come out negative on a cost-benefit analysis (given the value of human life at $2.7 million, if shoulder harnesses save 15 lives over 20 years, that's not enough if it costs $669 million to implement). What she fails to recognize is the opportunity cost of such spending--$669 million spent to save 15 lives over 20 years could save thousands of lives if spent elsewhere instead. There is no infinite fund of money available to save lives at any cost.

Speaking with the Dead
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a very original if somewhat disturbing read. If you ever wondered what happens to a body when it dies, if you ever wondered what kind of research is being done on corpses, if you ever wondered what happens if you "donate" your body to science, then this is the book for you. If any of these topics sent a shiver down your spine (or did much worst), then I advise you to stay far away from this one.

The real charm of the book is that, while being very informative and straight to the point, Roach's writing is often humorous in a morbid way that often brought a smile to my lips. She remarks some things that I would never had even thought of and makes some jokes that, done by any other author, could have seem tasteless (in fact, her humour is what makes this book such a fascinating read).

There wasn't a single chapter in this little tome that I didn't find fascinating, but some stood out more than others. In How To Know If You're Dead, Roach examines the different theories about the human soul to try and locate its presence (is it in the heart? the brain? the liver?). In Beyond the Black Box, she explains what happens to someone who is victim of a plane crash and how experts determine the cause of the crash. In Lifer After Death, Roach explains the different stages of decomposition. And in Just A Head, Roach examines the very strange subject of decapitation.

If this all sounds morbid, well, it is. But Roach's book is so well researched and informative that it all goes down easy for the reader. Roach never shies away from the truth, no matter how gruesome it may get.

Is this one for everyone? Not nearly. The topic will put off some, while the vivid imagery with turn off many others. But if you have the heart (and stomach) to take this one in, the ride will make you discover things you never knew about death, and will confirm or finally put to rest other assumptions you could have.

Great fun and VERY different
When you look up the term "Off the beaten path" in the dictionary, you will, without a doubt, see a copy of this book. Who would have thought a book on this subject would have been successful? Stiff is, without a doubt, a bizarre yet remarkably engaging read: not surprising since Roach is such a terrific writer. The author possesses the ingenious ability of being able to make digestible the most repulsive of subjects. Curious, yet not callus, Roach manages to ask-and yes, answer-questions often best left unspoken (keeping in mind public decorum). Furthermore, Roach is hilarious. If you like weird, funny, and not-for-the squeamish books, try "The Bark of the Dogwood--a tour of southern homes and gardens. Equally parts funny, morose, insightful, and well-done.

On my way to a colonoscopy...
...I was chatting with the nurses and told them that I've been reading a fascinating book that they might be interested in. When I told them the title, a couple squirmed and the one who was going to assist at my procedure wanted some details, immediately. I thought my timing was probably a little off, but being a risk-taker, I offered a few stories. As the medication began to lull me into the twilight zone, I heard her say that she wanted to read the book and that she would take care of me (!) I lived to write this review and will be sending her a copy of the book as a thank you.

An Amazing Read
This book is so informative, funny, thorough, reverent, and all around amazing... so much so that I am recommending it to all of my friends. Like a previous post stated, Roach's prose really makes you feel as if she is your best friend (she is hysterical!), and her in-depth look at the 'curious lives' of cadavers leaves little to the imagination. Be sure to read all of the footnotes... some of the witiest comments that I have ever read are waiting within. Overall, this book is so, so good in everyway! Get it now... you won't regret it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Religion From All Six Dimensions
I teach comparative religion at a college level and I have found this book to be one of the best I have ever found. Ludwig gives the reader a comprehensive view of the major religions of the world from a spiritual as well as academic perspective. As far as I can see the book is organized around the six dimensions developed by Ninian Smart. Each religion can be analized from the experiential, the mythical, the ritual, the doctrinal, the ethical and the social dimensions, although Ludwig uses some other terms. This is a great resource to get more than a superficial understanding of the worlds sacred paths.

Excellent Resource
I bought this book in 1991 (it has been re-published since then, apparently) as the textbook for a world religions course. It is still on my shelves while others have come and gone. By constraining itself to only the major religions, it gives each religion a full treatment explaining the significance of the principal characters in the context of history and its indigenous culture as well as the dogma itself. This is an excellent book if you are looking for a "survey" of the most widely practiced religious beliefs. ... Read more

Book Description

An insightful, revealing history of the magical mathematics that transformed our world.

At a summer tea party in Cambridge, England, a guest states that tea poured into milk tastes different from milk poured into tea. Her notion is shouted down by the scientific minds of the group. But one man, Ronald Fisher, proposes to scientifically test the hypothesis. There is no better person to conduct such an experiment, for Fisher is a pioneer in the field of statistics.

The Lady Tasting Tea spotlights not only Fisher's theories but also the revolutionary ideas of dozens of men and women which affect our modern everyday lives. Writing with verve and wit, David Salsburg traces breakthroughs ranging from the rise and fall of Karl Pearson's theories to the methods of quality control that rebuilt postwar Japan's economy, including a pivotal early study on the capacity of a small beer cask at the Guinness brewing factory. Brimming with intriguing tidbits and colorful characters, The Lady Tasting Tea salutes the spirit of those who dared to look at the world in a new way.
... Read more

Reviews (22)

Wonderfully well written, entertaining, and informative
The intense media attention given to the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem a few years ago was followed by the publication of many books on mathematics for non-mathematicians. Dr. Salsburg's book is arguably among the best of them. It has many interesting and illuminating anecdotes about the most influential statisticians in the early 20th century, which is when the Statistical Revolution (as aptly called by the author) took place. Important developments are clearly explained in their historical context, and their implications for current (i.e., 21st century) scientific research are given. The student of Statistics will get to know the people behind the names mentioned in the textbooks. The book is non-technical and written for the general public, but as a statistician myself I can say that I was no less than delighted reading it. In fact, two chapters (on probit and sample selection) deal with concepts I'm using in an epidemiological manuscript!

great look at statistics in the 20th Century
The Lady Tasting Tea is a new book by David Salsburg (a Ph.D. mathematical statistician, who recently retired from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Connecticut). The title of the book is taken from the famous example that R. A. Fisher used in his book "The Design of Experiments" to express the ideas and principles of statistical design to answer research questions. The subtitle "How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century" really tells what the book is about. The author relates the statistical developments of the 20th Century through descriptions of the famous statisticians and the problems they studied.

The author conveys this from the perspective of a statistician with good theoretical training and much experience in academia and industry. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and a retired Senior Research Fellow from Pfizer has published three technical books and over 50 journal articles and has taught statistics at various universities including the Harvard School of Public Health, the University of Connecticut and the University of Pennsylvania.

This book is written in layman's terms and is intended for scientists and medical researchers as well as for statistician who are interested in the history of statistics. It just was published in early 2001. On the back-cover there are glowing words of praise from the epidemiologist Alvan Feinstein and from statisticians Barbara Bailar and Brad Efron. After reading their comments I decided to buy it and I found it difficult to put down.

Salsburg has met and interacted with many of the statisticians in the book and provides an interesting perspective and discussion of most of the important topics including those that head the agenda of the computer age and the 21st century. He discusses the life and work of many famous statisticians including Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, Egon Pearson, Jerzy Neyman, Abraham Wald, John Tukey, E. J. G. Pitman, Ed Deming, R. A. Fisher, George Box, David Cox, Gertrude Cox, Emil Gumbel, L. H. C. Tippett, Stella Cunliffe, Florence Nightingale David, William Sealy Gosset, Frank Wilcoxon, I. J. Good, Harold Hotelling, Morris Hansen, William Cochran, Persi Diaconis, Brad Efron, Paul Levy, Jerry Cornfield, Samuel Wilks, Andrei Kolmogorov, Guido Castelnuovo, Francesco Cantelli and Chester Bliss. Many other probabilists and statisticians are also mentioned including David Blackwell, Joseph Berkson, Herman Chernoff, Stephen Fienberg, William Madow, Nathan Mantel, Odd Aalen, Fred Mosteller, Jimmie Savage, Evelyn Fix, William Feller, Bruno deFinetti, Richard Savage, Erich Lehmann (first name mispelled), Corrado Gini, G. U. Yule, Manny Parzen, Walter Shewhart, Stephen Stigler, Nancy Mann, S. N. Roy, C. R. Rao, P. C. Mahalanobis, N. V. Smirnov, Jaroslav Hajek and Don Rubin among others.

The final chapter "The Idol with Feet of Clay" is philosophical in nature but deals with the important fact that in spite of the widespread and valuable use of the statistical methodology that was primarily created in the past century, the foundations of statistical inference and probability are still on shaky ground.

I think there is a lot of important information in this book that relates to pharmaceutical trials, including the important discussion of intention to treat, the role of epidemiology (especially retrospective case-control studies and observational studies), use of martingale methods in survival analysis, exploratory data analysis, p-values, Bayesian models, non-parametric methods, bootstrap, hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. This relates very much to my current work but the topics discussed touch all areas of science including, engineering in aerospace and manufacturing, agricultural studies, general medical research, astronomy, physics, chemistry, government (Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy etc.), educational testing, marketing and economics. I think this is a great book for MDs, medical researchers and clinicians too! It will be a good book to read for anyone involved in scientific endeavors. As a statistician I find a great deal of value in reviewing the key ideas and philosophy of the great statisticians of the 20th Century.

I also have gained new insight from Salsburg. He has given these topics a great deal of thought and has written eloquently about them. I have learned about some people that I knew nothing about like Stella Cunliffe and Guido Castelnuovo. It is also touching for me to hear about the work of my Stanford teachers, Persi Diaconis and Brad Efron and other statisticians that I have met or found influential. These personalities and many other lesser-known statisticians have influenced the field of statistics.

The book includes a timeline that provides a list in chronological order of important events and the associated personalities in the history of statistics. It starts with the birth of Karl Pearson in 1857 and ends with the death of John Tukey in 2000.

Salsburg also provides a nice bibliography that starts with an annotated section on books and papers accessible to readers who may not have strong mathematical training. The rest of the bibliography is subdivided as follows: (1) Collected works of prominent statisticians, (2)obituaries, reminiscences, and published conversations and (3) other books and article that were mentioned in this book.

The book provides interesting reading for both statisticians and non-statisticians.

What happened to Frank P. Ramsey?J M Keynes?
Salsburg(S) does an excellent job discussing the historical development of the field of statistics in the 20th century.He has a way of writing that blends current statistical theory with the development of statistics over time from a historical perspective with the individuals who made it all happen,such as Neyman-Pearson and Sir Ronald Fisher.In this book he is close to Ian Hacking in the manner in which he weaves his story.This reviewer has a few quibbles.First,in S's discussion of the personalist(subjectivist)theory of probability,only de Finetti and Savage are covered.Since Frank Ramsey's 1922 and 1926 contributions to the subjective theory of probability,unfortunately combined with error filled critiques of John Maynard Keynes's logical theory of probability,were published BEFORE the work of de Finetti and Savage,he definitely deserved to have a prominent place in any book dealing with the history of probability and statistics.Second,there are a number of errors made in the all to brief discussion of Keynes and his logical theory of probability in his 1921 book,A Treatise on Probability(TP).Contrary to S(p.112,p.305),Keynes never received a doctorate in philosophy for writing the TP because the TP is not a doctoral dissertation.The TP was a thesis submitted for a fellowship, successfully, in 1909 at Cambridge.Keynes added a Part V to his thesis in the period from 1910-1914 to complete his TP.S commits another error when he chacterizes Keynesian economic policy as the manipulation of monetary policy.It is the manipulation of both fiscal and monetary policy.Finally,Keynes's probabilities are primarily intervals with a lower and an upper bound,not ordinal rankings as suggested by S.S's flawed appraisel involves a failure to translate Keynes's definition of the term "nonnumerical",which means"not by a single numeral but by two numerals".Finally,S is in too much of a hurry to take the side of Neyman,a deductivist, in his debates with Fisher,an inductivist,about significance levels(p-values) and confidence intervals.Neyman's justification for confidence intervals is badly flawed.It essentially boils down to an arbitrary "act of will" on the part of the researcher.Fisher,who was well acquanted with Keynes's logical theory of probability,realized that Neyman's "reasoning" was actually an evasion.Unfortunately,Fisher never was clear about his reservations .Fisher simply needed to come right out and say that a 95% confidence interval means that the researcher is 95% confident that the particular parameter,say the mean,lies in that interval.Of course,this conclusion follows from the proportional syllogism,which is part of the logical theory of probability.Neyman,who was a frequentist,ends up in a quagmire of his own creation because he did not want to allow any "inductive" concepts into his theory.

Noble effort, and entertaining.
It should come as no surprise to any reader that a 300 page collection of anecdotes might fall a bit short in realizing the implied goal in Salsburg's subtitle. He attempts to explain the paradigmatic shift in science from a Newtonian determinism to a probabilistic worldview by focusing on the statisticians themselves. The reader is often left with a desire for more - either more explanation of the paradigm shift or more anecdotes.

Nonetheless, I found this volume entertaining. I was fascinated by the newness in this field. Certainly nothing in my education led me to believe that virtually every aspect of social science research and statistical analysis is a 20th century invention. Who would have thought that the essence of 21st century social science research would be so well-anchored in agricultural studies and, perhaps most importantly, in the quality control efforts by master brewers at Guinness?

Salsburg intends to write to a non-statistical audience in language that can be understood without mathematic symbols. In this he is only partly successful. He does avoid technical symbols and most technical jargon, but in doing so he is often too vague to make his point clear. Even with three years of graduate statistics (from a social science perspective), I often found myself unsure of his explanations.

In the final analysis, Salsburg's description of the "statistical revolution" in science is really more of a sketch than a portrait. The significances of a shift from certainty to probability cannot be easily explained, but I will give him credit for trying to do so. That he is able to deal with this shift without explicitly commenting on the implications of this shift for religion, values, meaning, and justice is perhaps one of this book's major strengths.

Unfortunately, Salsburg concludes with a critique of the statistical revolution that may weaken the impact of his stories. Those desperately holding onto a Newtonian worldview could use this critique to discount 20th century science, especially social science. If, as Salsburg suggests, we are on the cusp of another paradigm shift, any post-statistical revolution is unlikely to be advanced by those continuing to resist the statistical one.

Pleasing intro to statisctics for lay(wo)men
An intriguing story based introduction to the fast field of
statistics. No formulas but still plenty of math terms explained
as easily as possible. The life stories of many statisticians
are combinded with the history of certain statistical problems.
This book showed me how huge the field of stastics is.
Statistics and Probability seem now to be scientific issues
on not just ways for politicians to cheat the public. In
everyday life, any mention of a statistic result causes at best
a compasionate smile. But this book changed that for me and I'd
like to learn more about this topic. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Excellent Addition to the Science-Religion Dialogue
Stephen Barr has an exceptionally clear style and a gift for illustrating complex ideas and making them understandable. More significantly, here is a free mind joyfully relating the physics he loves to the faith that sustains him, unconcerned about the reaction of the "professionals."

Note: The review of Barr's book by Booklist, is not quite accurate on one point. Barr does not say that Darwin's work has swept away all versions of the Design Argument based on biology. He only says that Darwin somewhat complicated the issue. In fact, while Barr is strongly convinced that evolution happened, he says that he regards it as an "open question" whether natural selection alone can explain the evolution of life, and he attacks the "dogmatism" of many Darwinists on this issue. Moreover, he cites with approval Michael Behe's book, Darwin's Black Box. However, Barr, being a physicist, stays away from biological arguments, except in a few passages, and sticks with his own field, as the title of his book attests.

Essential Reading for Students of Science and Religion
Dr. Barr's book lays the key points of traditional debates between theists and materialists' on how discoveries in physics relate to or actively disprove religious beliefs.

His greatest achievement is how he stays balanced and grounded. He shows how religion is compatible with science, but does not get bogged down trying to show how a given set of scientific discoveries *proves* a particular item of religious doctrine. Many Christians have gotten into trouble for this since if they rest their religious belief on a certain piece of scientific evidence, they will be grave trouble when further scientific progress may render that evidence they used obsolete.

While at least one reviewer has accused Barr of making straw men out of the materialist philosophers, I found him fair. At one point in the beginning of the book he wrote summarization of a materialistic case against religion. The wording was rather sweeping, and the footnote said that while this denunciation was written by Barr himself, it summarizes many anti-religion arguments. He does not directly cite any of the sources that he had in mind, which is unfortunate, especially in the light of his otherwise excellent documentation. However, when Barr goes into individual arguments, he documents everything well, and takes the materialists seriously.

The key value of the book is that it helps clarify what many of the science v. religion debates are really arguing about, and the hefty endnotes will help the reader continue on his own explorations. It makes a reliable starting point. Too frequently I have gotten into debates with people of differing religious beliefs (or lack thereof) where we wind up talking past each other.This book helps cure that. When asked what he would do to help his country, Confucius said that he would first have everyone agree on their definitions.

This book helps us agree on our definitions, or at the very least, know how they differ and understand what the other side is saying.

A Fine Book that Covers New Ground
When I finished this book, I went back and began reading it again, something I haven't done in many years. The writing is exceptionally clear and the arguments well stated. I'm not sure of the reason for the casual dismissal of the philosophical arguments in another review; the author mentions that Peter van Inwagen went through them with him, and van Inwagen is no shrinking violet.

He discusses, for example, the anthropic principle, Godel's proof and implications of quantum mechanics vis-a-vis the human mind, and concludes that, given our present state of knowledge, theism and an immaterial mind best account for the data. Always cautions in his conclusions, he never claims that any issue is settled, always reminding us that future discoveries may supersede what we presently believe about the physical world.

Some of his arguments were completely new to me, despite the fact that I have read extensively on these issues. This is not a rehash of, for example, Penrose. It presents new material in a fresh and interesting way.

He doesn't say that science proves the existence of God, or even that in some way it gives evidence for it, rather, he says that the discoveries of the last 70 years or so are consistent with theism and free will, whereas with classical physics one could only hope that some way out could be found. One has been found.

Very readable and well argued
Stephen Barr has a gift of writing about complicated philosophical or scientific issues in a clear and well readable style. Not only he has good style he presents deep arguments too. As a pretaste you might read online his excellent article: Retelling the Story of Science, http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0303/articles/barr.html

Well Done and Stimulating Book on an Essential Topic
"Modern Physics and Ancient Faith" is a wonderfully readable, interesting, informative, and intellectually stimulating book on an essential topic. Mr. Barr does an unexpectedly good job of presenting some of the key principles and findings of modern physics and their implications on the battle between materialism and theism. One doesn't need to be a technical wiz to understand the issues and facts- they are presented in a way that is very easy to grasp. (This introduction into some of the principles of modern physics is one of the side benefits of reading this book!) And the arguements on both sides of the issue are presented well, with Mr. Barr clearly stating his position (i.e. that theism provides a much better explanation for the findings of modern physics than materialism) while acknowledging that there is not enough evidence to conclusively prove one side over the other. The presentation does make a strong case for theism, and it does so with solid facts and reasoning.

Overall, this is an interesting, informative, stimulating, and intellectually honest take on a topic that is important and likely to be more important as time goes on. It provides good intellectual fodder for anyone interested in these fields or this debate. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for Fourth Generation R&D "A sweeping and insightful analysis of an architecture for innovation in the knowledge economy. Technologists, strategists, and organizational architects will all find this book worth reading, as will students of the modern organization." —John Seely Brown Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation "The new realities of competition beg a new approach to innovation and R&D; Fourth Generation R&D answers that challenge. With lucid arguments and detailed case studies, Fourth Generation R&D sketches a powerful new paradigm for planning and managing innovation. Every manager concerned with innovation and its role as a strategic resource—that’s to say, every manager—will profit from this new understanding." Lawrence Wilkinson President, Global Business Network "Fourth Generation R&D is a tour de force. Its sweep, depth, and use of graphics are all truly remarkable (not to mention its command of the literature on innovation). The distinctions it draws between continuous and discontinuous innovation—and between tacit and explicit knowledge—are fundamental." —John Yochelson President, The Council on Competitiveness ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Strategic management of innovation
You might be curious about what the title of this book refers to. It¡¯s rather simpler than you might guess. In a common vocabulary in business, it refers to the ¡®radical innovation¡¯. Then, you might infer that the 3rd generation R&D should be the incremental innovation. Yep. You¡¯re right. But those conventional terms don¡¯t fit completely into what authors argues. There is sufficient reason to coin such neologisms. The argument of this book goes like this. Traditional market research tends to deal with explicit knowledge. Focus group, survey, structured interview, all tackle what is pre-definable or expressible in word. But could such approaches spot the next generation product? authors question. No. customers can¡¯t put into words their gut feeling needs. They could spot it only when it appears on the market. The real breakthrough in product development, more often than not, comes in unexpected way. Thus, authors pose the question, ¡®How we should manage the uncertainty?¡¯ Put in other way, ¡®how we should manage the innovation?¡¯ R&D or product development must include incremental innovation. But in this turbulent environment, it¡¯s not enough. To be the leader in the market, not follower, one should ride ahead the tide. Then the question of R&D should be the radical innovation. Break with the identifiable trend. Then what product should be devised? All R&D begins with the product concept. But now the concept should be based on what customer¡¯s gut feeling or their tacit needs. Don¡¯t make what customer wants today. Make what they want tomorrow. At this point, you might retort: ¡®Yep. You¡¯re right. But it¡¯s easier to be told than to be done. How I could do so?¡¯ Here comes the knowledge management. Customers¡¯ tacit needs tend to be buried in noise of day-to-day information flow. There are numerous reasons for such filtering out. But all in all, to be sensitive to that kind of info, the authors maintain, is to manage the organization innovative. Knowing is not doing. Doing needs the capability to do. Then innovation requires the capability building. But it¡¯s not that simple to build up. It must face resistance inside the firm itself. Radical innovation tends to be the capability-destroying one. so developing innovative product usually comes with organizational innovation.
Above is the problem authors pose to us. I think the better title of the book is ¡®Strategic management of innovation¡¯. This book is not about the specificity of R&D, but about how to manage the firm innovative. Overall tenet of the book is so close to Nonaka & Takeuchi¡¯s ¡®The Knowledge-Creating Company¡¯. But this book is written not for academic researcher but for managers in the field. Points are made in graphic way with various case studies by authors. Nonetheless, it lacks the depth of Nonaka & Takeuchi¡¯s book. I recommend to read this book with Nonaka & Takeuchi¡¯s.

great content, not so great style
The book starts out with theoretical constucts and eventually uses examples to show their relevance. I found the authors' style of writing rather awkward. The organization of the material also makes the book somewhat difficult to follow. However, the well researched material presented is worth buying the book.

Sustainable Innovation!
Authors Miller and Morris have nailed the impending transformation of R&D from its historical, product-centric past to its emerging knowledge-centric future. In addition, their focus on 'discontinuous' and 'fusion' innovation promises to lead the way for industry, in general, whose R&D functions typically produce less than one new product innovation per decade and whose new products, when they are produced, tend to fail in under four years. The authors' explicit embrace of knowledge management is also welcome, as the value of most companies now tends to rest more on the weight of their intellectual assets than on so-called 'hard' assets. Finally, this book's focus on distributed, enterprise-wide innovation signals the tearing down of R&D's overly centralized and compartmentalized profile in most firms, and offers strong support for the view that innovation should be structured as a distributed, whole-firm social process, not an administrative one. I highly recommend this book to readers interested in R&D, innovation, knowledge management, intellectual capital, organizational learning, and sustainable innovation.

Provocative Analysis of Innovation
Fourth Generation R&D makes explicit many of the concepts and processes of innovation that often seem mysterious and complex. The author's framework for innovation applies to organizations competing in accelerated and dynamic markets.

Innovation algorithm
Most business leaders today understand that innovation is survival. This book gets beyond the usual trivial pablum about *being more creative* to show the kinds of mechanisms and methods that give R&D traction. If you want to stop wasting your R&D dollars and get better ROI, this book offers clear, actionable, and reliable insights. ... Read more

Book Description

In August 1930, on a voyage from Madras to London, a young Indian looked up at the stars and contemplated their fate. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar —Chandra, as he was called — calculated that certain stars would suffer a most violent death, collapsing to virtually nothing. This extraordinary claim, the first mathematical description of black holes, rankled one of the greatest astrophysicists of the day, Sir Arthur Eddington, who in 1935 publicly ridiculed Chandra, sending him into an intellectual and emotional tailspin — and hindering the progress of astrophysics for nearly forty years.

Tracing the rise of two great theories, relativity and quantum mechanics, which meet head on in black holes, Empire of the Stars is the dramatic story of this intellectual feud and its implications for
twentieth-century science. It"s also the moving tale of one man"s struggle against the establishment and of the deep-seated prejudices that plague even rational minds. Indeed, it wasn"t until the cold war that scientists realized the importance of Chandra"s work, which was finally awarded a Nobel Prize in 1983.

Set against the waning days of the British Empire, this sweeping history examines the quest to understand one of the most forbidding objects in the universe as well as the passions that fueled that quest over the course of a century. ... Read more

Book Description

A breathtaking, first-hand account of the early days of the NASA space program, through the eyes of the man who held it all together... ... Read more

Reviews (73)

THIS BOOK ROCKED
I first learned about this book after I saw Apollo 13. I was inspired by Kranz's (Ed Harris in the movie) zealousness to bring our asronaughts home. I then purchased this book. As I got into it I found that I could not put the book down.. There is NEVER A DULL MOMENT.. somthing always seems to go haywire.. and when it does, The good ol boys at mission control with the skill of the astronaughts do their damnest to fix it. a Truly awe inspireing book not only for space buffs but for any one who needs a good pick er upper. A true tribute to our Space Program. Kranz inspired by Kennedy's words "ask not what your country can do for you .. ask you can do for your country" and "We choose to go to the moon - in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard." A true Patriot Kranz is. I wish there were more people like Gene Kranz out there. I salute you Gene Kranz!

Tour de Space
Using his extensive files (over 7 file cabinets) and numerous sources, Gene Kranz reviews each launch and narrates his participation in the space program from Mercury through Apollo. An amazing amount of detail is given for the numerous difficulties that were encountered in each phase of the space program. The recognition of problems, troubleshooting them and quick resolution is the driving force in this text. Readers remember Apollo 13's fuel cell crisis and the excellent job done by both Mission Control and the crew to safely return the space craft home. However, while not as dramatic as Apollo 13's potential for astronauts being lost in space, several other incidents that could have resulted in tragedy are detailed along with the actions taken to overcome each difficulty.

The text is an account of Gene Kranz's career from procedure writer to Flight Director and details the history of the development of NASA's Mission Control organization. There being no previous experience, the book outlines how the Mission Control organization was developed from scratch. The text illustrates that in space, team work and training was mandatory to be able to evaluate a problem and initiate action often within 60 seconds. This required a high degree of commitment and competence for all persons involved.

Kranz's accounts of training through simulation is fascinating. Malfunctions were programmed into the training without prior knowledge of the persons in the training session. In one case the simulated collapse of the mission doctor was so real that after the training session others had to be told the doctor was fine. Such detailed and stressful training and the actual mission performance required a detailed knowledge of systems by each person for their area of responsibility plus knowledge of adjoining areas. This training frequently revealed problems where such knowledge later paid off in successful missions.

The author briefly outlines the background of each person as they appeared in the narration. They were basically a mix of young engineers and aviators some having test pilot experience. All parties had to live by a time line whether it was during planning, training, launch, flight or recovery. The text clearly states that participation in the space program demanded discipline, commitment and risk. Some readers may criticize Gene Kranz for his strict military attitude, discipline and unwavering commitment but the question must be asked what other alternatives would have worked in situations where decisions had to be made in seconds for malfunctions involving life and death? I am reminded of the old saying "A camel is a race horse designed by a committee." As the author clearly illustrates, in space there was no margin for error or time for debate.

Also covered are several non-flight activities such as upper management, debriefings and press conferences. Each debriefing was critical to the success of the next mission especially if critical malfunctions had to be addressed. The text states that the space program was covered by a dedicated, well-informed, and highly professional press corps who "....knew the difference between objective reporting of news and hyping things up to entertain the audience...." Kranz notes that "The press conference was almost as much of an ordeal as the mission" and further states "They asked the tough questions, but they respected us and the work we did as long as we didn't try to mislead them."

Flight directors worked rotating shifts. Gene Kranz was a flight director for Apollo 11 during the actual first lunar landing and later led the team that developed the program to recover Apollo 13 after it suffered the fuel cell explosion. The text gives much interesting information about both flights. The last moon landing was Apollo 17 where once again Kranz was a flight director.

The book concludes with the usual chapter Where They Are giving an update of the history for the major players.

The book provides a tremendous amount of information. Readability may be a minor weakness of this work, but a most helpful appendix Glossary of Terms defines the many acronyms used in the text and helps the reader to move ahead. While not difficult to read, at times it is slow reading unless the reader is just skimming.

While some may take issue with Gene Kranz's stern, disciplined, military approach to the challenges faced, the results confirm the effectiveness of this approach to life and death situations where decisions must be made in seconds and there is no turning back once a decision was made.

A must read for those interested in a time when the United States successfully met a major challenge.

Must read after reading all the astronauts' books.
Gene Kranz's book tells a similar story, as told in books by Eugene Cerman, Scott Carpenter, and Chris Kraft, without being dominated by the author's ego. The others wrote good books. But Kranz avoids using personal attacks to tell his tale. The antidotes differ from those in other stories, as Kranz does not have a Boy Scout image to preserve. However, Kranz covers mission control only through Apollo 17.

This book is an excellent story of the space race from the ground.

Mercury to Apollo: the inside scoop on the US space program
In my boyhoood, I collected news clippings of space flights like some others collected stamps. While I knew of the the complete or near-disasters of Apollo 1 and 13 which never escaped media attention, I could not imagine how many more instances of nervous questions there were on the ground at Mission Control Center (MCC) during many of the celebrated successful space shots.

Gene Kranz's book provides an insider's view into the inner workings of MCC, all the way from the Mercury program to the final Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Probably better suited than almost any one else to tell this story on how things looked from the ground, Kranz worked his career in NASA up to Flight Director, including for the memorable Apollo 11 and 13 flights which provide some of the most dramatic passages in the book. While the world savored the euphoria of the first men landing on the moon, Kranz tells of how he and his team were worrying about near fatal computer problems with the lunar lander. Most readers will be familiar with the Apollo 13 episode which was well enacted on the big screen with Tom Hanks , but Kranz's book provides some of the finer detail that the movie misses.

The book not only provides flight details of the manned spaced shots, but discuss some of the important management and technical issues which need to be resolved to move from Mercury through Gemini and Apollo. Kranz's epilogue concludes with some of his broader observatons and recommendations for future space policy.

Readers will be struck by the authoritarian and disciplined management style in the program, which Kranz does not easily hide. The author would probably have done well to use a ghostwriter or good editor. But apart from its prose which lacks elegance and an easy flow, this book provides an illuminating insight into how such a complex management feat was accomplished.

Disappointing
I consider myself an afficianado of the U.S. space program of the 1960s and early '70s, so I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Kranz's book.

Kranz has always seemed to be a man of the utmost integrity, dedication and competence. But a page-turning writer he is not. If he used a ghost writer on this book he was ripped off, seeing as how the prose is dry as dust.

The book is likely a valuable contribution to history, but it will probably be more referenced in future books than it will be read in its entirety. ... Read more

Book Description

Organized around the theme of human development, this book is written by experts on each region of the world to create a comprehensive volume on world regional geography that presents a vital overview of the topic, providing a deep understanding of the character of the world's people. A rich art package assists the reader in gaining a personal feeling for the inner essence of each world region.This book covers the geographic, social, and economic issues for each world region, including the United States and Canada; Europe; Russia and the Eurasian States; Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands; Asia; the Middle East and North Africa; Africa south of the Sahara; and Latin America.This book can serve as an excellent tool for any reader who is interested in the world's regions and its people; it is an excellent reference work for geographers, cultural anthropologists, and others working in those fields. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Seriously Biased
The tendency of this book to ridicule America (its history, its culture, its priorities, etc.) really calls into question the objectivity and political persuasion of its authors. Whether it's the destruction of the environment or world poverty, America and the American people are always to blame. We use too much energy; we don't share enough; blah blah blah. America does more to promote peace and economic development throughout the world than any other country. While the authors of this book don't seem to be so, I, for one, am PROUD to be an American

As a text
The general feel of this book is dark and dull. Graphics are oddly benign,upside, the Geography in Action sections offer realistic insight into Geographic concepts. Clawson and Fisher tried. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (42)

No riddle. No story.
What a little mess of a book. You see, as it turns out, there isn't really much of a riddle to the invention of the compass. In fact, there isn't really much of a story to the invention of the compasss, or if there is, Dr. Aczel has not stumbled upon it.

So, in order to fill out the pages of this small book, the author spins some unrelated stories that he then tries to somehow pin to the "riddle of the compass." For instance, we are treated to a history of Venice from the Romans to Napolean. Why? Well it seems that as seafaring people, the Venetians probably USED the compass. Or another entire chapter on the travels of Marco Polo to China that ends by noting -- not that Marco Polo had ANYTHING to do with the compass -- but that his travels "prove the feasibility of transport between China and the West. [Polo's] journeys underscore the likelihood that sometime between the Roman era and his own peiord a compass would have arrived in Europe among the many goods that traveled the routes he and his father and uncle took in the late Middle Ages." (I guess I was under the impression that the existence of SOME East-West trade during the Middle Ages was pretty well-accepted. But the Polo trip fills 12 pages of text.)

In these types of books, the relevant digressions are often the essence of what makes for fascinating reading. But here the digressions are almost comically tagential. One feels that Dr. Aczel, if assigned to explicate the story of Little Red Riding Hood, would somehow find his way to a discussion of McCarty-era red-baiting in the little town of Hood, Oregon.

Because there is little to say on the topic, the author struggles to make what might have been a magazine article into a book. As a consequence, the story being told feels silly and the book is poorly organized and frustrating to read.

The Compass In History
Amir Aczel presents us with the story of the origins of the compass, in as much detail as scholars have been able to discover. Aczel covers the use of the compass with ancient mariners and how these mariners had to rely on other navigational aids in the days before the compass, such as wind, plants, sounding lines, sea life, geography, currents, etc.. Also mentioned as well is the use of stars in determining latitude, longitude was much more difficult to determine due to the lack of accurate chronometers in early times.

Much of this volume deals with the origin of the 16 point wind rose and how it became incorporated into the modern compass, documented with events and ancient documents in China, and Italy, up to medival times and beyond. This includes discussions of the Etruscans, the cities of Amalfi and Venice, the explorer Marco Polo, all relating to the development of the compass. The second to last chapter sketches the voyages in the Great Age Of Exploration which were vastly aided by the compass, in addition to the astrolabe, a precursor of the sextant.

I believe that Amir Aczel made a very good case here that the compass is one of the pivitol inventions of humanity. Ask yourself this: if the compass had never been invented (which would have slowed down trade and the exchange of information and ideas) how many years of progress would have been lost? My wild guess is 50-100 years of lost progress, a lot.

Short and yet comprehensive and fascinating book
This book is short and reads fast, but it covers its topic--how the compass came about and how navigation was changed by its use--very well. It talks about how navigation worked before the compass (dispelling the myth that ships hugged the coastline to avoid getting lost). It looks worldwide for evidence of magnets used for direction finding throughout history, not always for use in navigation. All in all, a fun and informative book.

What was the riddle?
There are a variety of interesting facts presented, but the narrative fails. Aczel organizes his comments around a visit to Amalfi, Italy. According to the book, he arrives in Amalfi to celebrate the birth of Flavio Gioia, a celebrated 13th century Amalfi native whom locals credit with inventing the compass. Wanting to know more about Flavio, he goes to an Amalfi library for research reading. The result is this little tome. At the book's conclusion, our investigative reporter looks up at the understanding librarian, provides words of appreciation and leaves.

We then learn that the first known use of magnetic direction devices was Chinese divination practice, now known as Feng Shui. It seems the first use of a compass was architectural. The Chinese liked having their front doors facing the auspicious south. Sometime around 1100, someone in Italy discoved Feng Shui navigation. It seems Feng Shui architectural tools were equally useful for turning a boat's bow to the south. Further, the always inventive Italians put the device in a box for easy divination during off shore religious services. This was particularly useful during inclement weather.

I guess the 'riddle' was 'who was Fabio Gioa?', but this pleasant chunk of local folklore is quickly dismissed as legend springing from a missing comma in some 15th century manuscript. An alternative might have been 'who invented the compass,' but it is clear this cannot be deduced. A third mystery involves the changing 'compass rose'. On ancient maps, there were 12 directions. Sometime during the 13th century, maps started using a 16 direction 'compass rose'. Who or what sparked that change?

While these issues have the makings of an excellent story on the social shaping of technology, the author never really bring the issues into focus. There are lots of curious details, but the author forgets the punchline.

A lot of time is spend speculating on who 'invented' the compass. Since the familiar European compass is little more than a boxed Chinese 'pivoting magnetized needle', it isn't clear the 12th century Italian design is really an 'invention' at all. This could have provided an interesting segway to an investigation of 'creation' myths in general. It seems many medieval technological imports from China and/or the Muslim Caliphates get transmuted from 'import' to 'invention' in the 16th century. Why these myths were so important, and still offered credibility seems an important topic, but Aczel only alludes to the issue.

Fascinating Tale About The Riddle & Compass History
The reviews of this book go from one extreme to the other- are you confused about reading this book? As one reviewer suggested to the naysayers- lighten-up! I agree. This book is well presented and covers far more than the "riddle" of who invented the navigational compass, although that alone is worth the read.

The history of the compass starting with the ancient Chinese discovery of the magnetic qualities of lodestone and applying that knowledge to construct a land use compass, then following the invention around the world and over centuries until it was discovered to be useful for sea navigation and it's design perfection as it traveled from one country to the next up to contemporary times, is also worth the read.

Aczel's treatment of this subject includes his account as a young man and his own time spent in the pilot house of ocean liners learning navigation from his seafaring father and captain. He learned the importance of a compass as a navigation aid and this was a great prelude to writing with hands-on knowledge.

Some of the naysayers have attempted to dilute the importance of the compass as a navigational aid- hah! Like Aczel, I too, have spent much time on the ocean and for those that think sailing without a compass is no big thing, consider the older tools of navigation, i.e., guiding by the stars, etc. What do you guide by with during cloudy skies, turbulent seas and no land in sight for weeks or months on end? The compass is unaffected by those conditions and it also lead to accurate, cross-ocean, long distance mapping of the entire world. And they said that's no big thing???? Landlubbers- sheesh!

After finishing this book, I read "The Compass" by Paula Z. Hogan, 1980. Although it was writen for children 9-12, it is a great read for all ages, very informative and at only 60 pages long plus illustrations and experiments, packs more relevant compass info than any book I've read and is great companion to Aczel's book. ... Read more

Book Description

Leonhard Euler was one of the most prolific mathematicians that have ever lived. This book examines the huge scope of mathematical areas explored and developed by Euler, which includes number theory, combinatorics, geometry, complex variables and many more. The information known to Euler over 300 years ago is discussed, and many of his advances are reconstructed. Readers will be left in no doubt about the brilliance and pervasive influence of Euler's work. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

So much fun it makes you chuckle
I don't have much to add to the excellent reviews above, except to say that if you like clear exposition of sometimes obscure mathematical themes, like logarithms of imaginary numbers, or the almost magical Euler line, you can't do better than read Professor Dunham's books. And when you mix this talent with a subject such as the incredibly clever and curious Leonhard Euler, you can't help but be carried away. I literally found myself chuckling with awe at some of the amazing leaps of intuition this 18th-century mathematician was able to make, even as he was losing his sight and fathering 13 children! I've always been an admirer of Euler's, and Prof. Dunham's wonderful little book only increased my admiration -for both.

I hope Prof. Dunham will decide to write a sequel, and/or tackle the work of other prolific mathematicians, like the Indian Srinivasa Ramanujan, another one of my heroes.

This is the third book by Prof. Dunham I've read. I have enjoyed them all and keep them handy to lift my spirits when I'm down -they're that much fun. I wish I'd had him as a teacher in college, and I envy his students at Muhlendorf. I just hope they appreciate how lucky they are!

A little gem.
I had never read any of William Dunham's many books before. Now I want to read them all. In a scant 173 pages he describes in great detail how Leonhard Euler, arguably the greatest mathematician ever, solved the most difficult mathematical problems of his day.

The style in this book is both unusual and clever. Each of the eight chapters covers a different branch of mathematics and each begins with a prologue, then follows with some of Euler's contributions, and finishes with an epilogue. The prologues present the history of mathematics up to Euler's time, so the reader gets a feel of what this great mathematician had to work with. And the epilogues tell where we have come since Euler.

This book is full of equations and expects some work (but not much mathematical background) from the reader. If you like mathematics or ever wondered how some of the great discoveries in this field were derived, do yourself a favor and buy, then carefully read, this wonderful book.

Nice book for readers with a background in math
I really enjoyed reading this book that describes some background on Euler and his work. It is written in an informal style, so for people with a math background it reads like a novel.

The book is not suitable for people who want to learn more about the person Euler, but do not have a math background, because 75% of the book is about real math (equations). So if you don't enjoy reading equations, do not buy the book.

Summary: as enjoyable as the other Dunham books, although a bit more expensive (but still worth the money).

William Dunham has done it again!
With the publication of this, his third book, Dunham has once more shown himself to be a master himself of mathematical explanation. Unlike his previous two books, The Mathematical Universe and Journey Through Genius, which covered results by a variety of mathematicians, this book focuses on selected results that sprang from the remarkable mind of Leonard Euler, one of the most prolific and important mathematicians of all time. What sets Euler apart is not only the vast quantity of his output (the publication of his collected works, the Opera Omnia, spans six dozen volumes, or over 25,000 pages in all!), but also the breadth and originality of his work. Not only did Euler contribute to a wide array of mathematical fields -- from number theory to complex analysis to geometry -- but in many cases, he was the founder of those fields. For example, Euler invented the field of analytical number theory, and he was the first mathematician to recognize the importance of and to discover the important properties of complex numbers.

This book in many ways resembles Dunham's Journey Through Genius. As in that book, Dunham has selected 15 or so theorems to present in detail, and he makes an effort to keep the proofs similar in spirit to the original proofs. Although the proofs are complete and the book is full of equations, they are accessible to anyone with a high school level of mathematics education. But in addition to the proofs, Dunham also provides historical context, as well as commentary on how later mathematicians used and improved upon Euler's work. For example, we learn that Euler began to loose the sight in his right eye at the age of 32, and that despite his virtual blindness by the age of 65, he continued his prolific rate of output until his death at age 84.

The book's title is taken from a quote by Laplace, who said, ``Read Euler, read Euler. He is the master of us all.'' Indeed, if you have any interest in mathematics, you will almost certainly find yourself in complete agreement with Laplace's sentiments by the time you finish reading this wonderful book. ...

" Euler, the anlysis incarnate "!!!!
" Analysis incarnate " , no other more suitable words probably can describe the incomparable power of Euler, as his contemparies called him. Concerning the usual style of Dunham to write this stimulating book, other readers have made many comments and I think there is no need to repeat that. What I want is that Dunham to write another book, perhaps volume 2,3 etc and also write a thorough biography of Euler, one the greatest mathematicians in the history. ( To me, for mathematical ability, his should be at the same rank with Newton, Archaemedes, and Gauss, even Einstein concerning the mathematical and theroetical aspect, is below par compared with Euler ) ... Read more