Book Description

Earth Science offers a reader-friendly overview of our physical environment for the reader with little or no exposure to science. The emphasis is on readability, with clear explanations and examples, superb illustrations by the renowned Dennis Tasa, and an incredible collection of full color photographs and topographical maps.Topics covered in this highly readable and interesting book are geology, oceanography, astronomy, and meteorology.For readers needing a basic informational book about Earth Science. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Awesome, not quite college level
I'm using this book for a high school freshman year Earth Sci class, and I love it. It's very readable and clear, with appropriate diagrams that help understanding. It also avoids doing what lots of high school textbooks do, which is showing lots of weird-looking kids in plain T-shirts doing experiments in a doomed attempt to appeal to students. I've learned a lot with this book :)

A great book covering everything
This textbook is one of the best scientific books I have seen. Not only does it cover earth science (like geology), but astronomy and meteorology also. It covers every topic that you possibly want to know about. The authors leave no information out. I had to use this for Science Olympiad, and it helped me so much. The explanations are great, the images beautiful, and the diagrams very helpful. I would suggest this for anyone that has an interest in Earth Science or Meteorology. It is a great book. ... Read more

Book Description

An extraordinary volume of never-before-published letters written by one of America's most beloved scientists.

Richard P. Feynman, brilliant physicist and beloved teacher, is an iconic figure in the world of science. Born in 1918 in Brooklyn, Feynman received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1942. Despite his youth, he played an important part in the Manhattan Project during World War II, going on to teach at both Cornell and the California Institute of Technology, and winning the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for his research in quantum electrodynamics. Many remember his work on the Challenger commission, in particular his famous O-ring experiment, which required nothing more than a glass of ice water. Besides his work as a physicist, Feynman was at various times an artist, dancer, bongo player, and lock picker.

While there have been many books celebrating his myriad scientific achievements and personal eccentricities, his personal correspondence has remained largely hidden from view buried in the archive at Caltech or locked in a box in his daughter's Pasadena home. Now, for the first time, we have the privilege of reading his wonderful letters to students, long-lost relatives, former lovers, crackpots, colleagues, and die-hard fans. From his early love letters to his first wife Arline, who died at Los Alamos of tuberculosis, to his decades-long attempt to resign from the National Academy of Sciences, Feynman shares his views on feminism, fatherhood and everything in between. These letters, which span a full half-century, tell the story of a marvelous and inventive life, and reveal the pathos and wisdom of a man many felt close to but few really knew. By turns abrasive and charming, intimate and inspiring, we see the many sides of Richard Feynman, and treasure him all the more. ... Read more

Book Description

The main objectives of this introductory physics book are twofold: to provide the student with a clear and logical presentation of the basic concepts and principles of physics, and to strengthen an understanding of the concepts and principles through a broad range of interesting applications to the real world. In order to meet these objectives, emphasis is placed on sound physical arguments and discussions of everyday experiences and observations. At the same time, the student is motivated through practical examples that demonstrate the role of physics in other disciplines. This sixth edition features new pedagogy in keeping with the findings of physics education research. The rich, new pedagogy has been integrated within the framework of an established and reliable text, facilitating its use by instructors.This text, which covers the standard topics in classical physics and 20th century physics, is divided into six parts. Newtonian mechanics and the physics of fluids (Part I); heat and thermodynamics (Part II); wave motion and sound (Part III); electricity and magnetism (Part IV); properties of light and the field of geometric and wave optics (Part V); and an introduction to special relativity, quantum physics, and atomic and nuclear physics (Part VI). ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Blech
This book totally failed to explain the concept of torque to me, I spent one hour reading the torque chapter twice and it failed to show me. Then I asked my friend online and he was able to explain it to me in less than a minute. This book is only good for the problem sets, which occasionally have a cameo from a Warner Brothers cartoon and one picture of Raymond Serway on a bed of nails. You will not be able to teach yourself physics concepts if you use this book, so if your professor assigns it, I recommend you go to class. Maybe that's why he or she assigned it in the first place.

less than one star... but since there's no zero
This is one of the poorest books I've ever used for learning any subject. This is simply NOT GOING TO WORK if you learn by reading/studying, rather than in class.

I already have a college degree, and I've read thousands of books, and studied from many. Rarely have I found a book this thick that has so little
1) EXPLANATION OF CORE CONCEPTS,
or
2) THOROUGHLY WORKED EXAMPLES OF PROBLEMS.

There is a lot of verbiage but that is all.

DO NOT WASTE TIME WITH THIS BOOK. Without a GOOD teacher, this book is beyond totally useless. With a teacher one can use this book for homework problems, but nothing more.

Since I am doing this as a pre-requisite for medical school, I am using the web and a number of other texts instead. I wish I could find a good thorough text though.

Excellent Book - But Only a Gateway to the Field
I will keep my review short and pointed.

It is difficult for people to design books for students. I was a professor so I know the subject and sometimes it is a challenge to prepare and transfer the information in an easy way to the student. That is the challenge.

About the book. It is an excellent book, with lots of information and covers all the basic topics of interest. If you can absorb everything in this book you will have a solid physics foundation of knowledge. It is a modern book and tries to relate physics concepts to the real world and modern laboratory so there is lots of extra information and tables, conversions, units, etc. Lots of formulas and a good cross reference index and it is all clear to myself.

As a student you will never learn from just the book. You must read the book, but it is absolutely critical that you do every problem that you can find from assignments, to what is available in this book, to other books. Problems, problems, problems. Then you will absorb all that is in the book. The field is not intuitively obvious and there is no shortcut to study and problem solving.

Many better choices
My daughter is taking high school AP physics with this book. As a former teaching assistant in physics (grad school), this book is terrible in that the chapters give little insight to the information needed to work the problems. Without significant, and excellent, supplement by the teacher this book should not be used.

This book is pathetic
I am taking college physics as well as my second semester of general chemistry. This book in no way compares to my chemistry text. I am a very good college student with a BS in computer science and a strong physics background,... and even for me this book is extremely hard to follow. That is the consensus among my fellow students which include a friend who already has his MBA. There is not much explanation of concepts before you jump into the problems, and there are not nearly enough example problems worked in the text. Additionally, considering this is the 6th edition I am surprised to still find errors in the text.

Don't even consider purchasing the student solution manual. I think it works out about 15 of the end of chapter problems per chapter, which is not very many. ... Read more

Book Description

Building on the tremendous reception to its parent volume, Earth 8th edition, the same groundbreaking media package is now integrated into the brief version of the best-selling introductory physical geology volume. This eighth edition of Essentials of Geology represents a thorough revision, yet retains the hallmarks readers have come to expect from Tarbuck and Lutgen. Reader friendly writing style, carefully crafted illustrations by Dennis Tasa that are both geologically accurate and visually appealing, and updated coverage of the most recent geologic events.The volume provides an introduction to geology covering minerals, igneous rocks, volcanoes and other igneous activity, weathering and soil, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, mass wasting, running water, groundwater, glaciers and glaciation, deserts and wind, shorelines, the ocean floor, earthquakes and earth's interior, plate tectonics, mountain building, geologic time, and earth history.For individuals interested in an introduction to geology. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good textbook for the the physical geology student
This book is intended as a text for the collegiate course in physical geology. The course encompasses a general overview of the physical processes by which the Earth continues to develop, both gradually and by sudden events of great magnitude. Plate tectonics, volcanism, erosion, mountain building and shaping, mineralogy, mass wasting, the impact of man, glaciation, and all other manner of things are clearly discussed in nineteen separate chapters. The color photography and diagrams are remarkably good, and closely follow the text, which is a real boon, especially to a student who is hard-pressed for time. The coverage is up-to-date and accurate in all respects. Many of the photographs, such as the those of the eruptions at Montserrat, are very current.

Given the fact that physical geology is the first of six courses required for any geology degree, and that any well-informed person should have no trouble understanding the contents of this book, I would recommend it to any reader interested in earth science, student or not.

Not that bad
If you are taking a Geology class, this book is very helpful. Its easy to read, and has many pictures. ... Read more

Book Description

With its time-tested problems, pioneering conceptual and visual pedagogy, and next-generation media package, the Eleventh Edition of Young and Freedman's University Physics is the classic physics book with an eye on the future. Using Young & FreedmanUs research-based ISEE (Identify, Set up, Execute, Evaluate) problem-solving strategy, readers develop the physical intuition and problem-solving skills required to tackle the bookUs extensive high-quality problem sets that have been developed and refined over the past five decades. The completely redesigned, pedagogically consistent artwork and diagrams integrate seamlessly with the book to help readers better visualize key concepts.For college instructors, students, or anyone interested in physics. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Will make your physics concepts crystal...
I have used this book in my A level (High School). I think its simply fantastic. I has detailed explainations. I don't know how could my friends who are at college level find this book unuseful.
But it demands strong mathematics, that very few people have. If you have strong maths, then you are ready to use this book. But if
you haven't this book might be the toughest for you.

Great book for learning physics while abstracting from math
I liked this book a lot. It has a lot of information, presented very clearly, about topics in physics that are often not studied in undergrad programs like fluid dynamics, physics of sound waves and musical instruments and thermodynamics. The illustrations are stunning!! One can really understand a lot of physics by reading this book - from mechanics to electromagentism, waves and modern physics.

I do think that the book is somewhat superficial in all the above topics. It uses only modest math, and so does not reach the complexity level of the Berkely physics course series (which I am familar with). As I said, the strengths of the book are its breadth and simple explanations of the less complicated topics.

If one wishes a more in depth understanding of physics, it is easy to move from this text to more advanced texts on mechanics, magnetism or quantum mechanics (assuming appropriate knowledge of math). I would still recommend starting with this book in order to get a clear and broad view of physics while enjoying the process.

It is annoying that this book has an outrageous price. It is not so different from the 10th edition, and so you can get a new or used 10th edition copy for a fraction of the price $150 (I got a new 10th edition hardcover (with modern physics) under $40).

Fair at best
This book is too bulky and too wordy. The authors purport to bend over backwards to guide the student through some difficult subject matter, but they end up making it more confusing. And then there are the corny jokes. Who has time for this nonsense? Were it not for the very good illustrations, I would give this a lower rating. My advice: Go to the lecture, do the problems but don't waste time reading this textbook.

a lot of hard questions, not enough explanation
The book does not go indepth into a lot of physics problems. It will solve one question on one topic and then give the student a bunch of other questions at the end of the chapter that are different and harder than the solved example problems. Everyone who has taken college physics knows that there are a lot of variations to different questions, and there are conditions and exceptions that must be taken into account before a problem is solved. If you have a crappy physics professor, like I had, this book will make physics a nightmare for you.

A disappointment
I use this book for my college physics class and I can honestly say this book is crap. The questions are confusing at best and difficult to understand. There is a lot of worthless junk. The solutions to the book are even worst. It jumps straight into a equation without stating which one did it used. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling algebra-based physics book has been widelyknown for its carefully crafted exposition, strong biological applications, andhigh degree of accuracy and precision.The Fifth Editionmaintains these strengths and brings a conceptual emphasis and real-worldflavor to the examples, problems, and art program. In addition, the new editionfeatures an unparalleled suite of media and on-line resources to enhance thephysics classroom.For readers with an algebra-based physicsbackground. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Tough, Demanding, Excellent
I just completed an Advanced Placement (AP) Physics course atmy high school, using this book as our text. Although College-levelphysics is an extremely tough subject to comprehend, Douglas Giancoli does an excellent job in laying out the principals and applications of every aspect of the science. He starts with the basics: One and Two dimensional Kinematics, then moves on to cover Forces and Rotational motion, Gravitation, Torque, Momentum, Simple Harmonic Motion, Thermal Physics, Electricty and Magnetism, Relativity, Quantum and Nuclear Physics, and Astrophysics. Each chapter comes complete with practice questions and problems, and although they are sometimes incredibly difficult, they can be solved by using the information provided in the chapter, even though you sometimes have to extend the information one step further. The textbook has a companion website as well ..., complete with online questions and problems which made a great companion to the text. Occasionally throughout the year, we found a few errors in the text, and some of his explanations leave things to be desired, but overall it was a terrific textbook.

WARNING
This book is maddening. Hundreds of physics problems, and no manual to show you how their solutions are derived. You can't learn physics unless you go over the solutions to problems -- so you can't learn physics with this book alone. You need 1.)a professor with the solutions manual 2.) the solutions manual (which a lowly student is not allowed to have) -- or 3.) a different book (my recommendation). I'm preparing on my own for the MCAT, and this book is driving me crazy. I'm able to get my hands on College Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biology texts, all with detailed answers to their problems. Trying to answer a problem, failing, reviewing the answer, coming back to it later and trying again -- that's how you learn. Reading five pages of text, one or two worked-out examples, and then tackling 30 problems of varying degrees of difficulty with no assistance from the text (or the absolutely useless student manual, what a waste of money) -- is no way to learn physics. If the authors published a student solutions manual with worked-out problems, this would be a good text. I wish the authors could read some of the comments on this site and realize WORKED-OUT PROBLEMS FOR STUDENTS OF PHYSICS ARE ESSENTIAL TO LEARNING PHYSICS. Perhaps in a classroom setting, with a good teacher, this is a helpful text. Trying to use it on your own as a resource for MCAT preparation, or any other solitary learning, however, is a complete waste of time. DON'T BUY IT.

Outstanding text
I used Giancoli as my primary text in high school, and found it to be a superb text. I think those complaining of a lack of worked problems are missing the entire point of this text and the essence of studying physics. This book is about understanding physics principles and the equations you use to solve physics problems. You will find that with this understanding (certainly provided by this excellent text), the need for mindless ploughing through physics problems is lost. You will be able to solve physics problems on the basis of your conceptual understanding of the problems. So many students rely on rote learning and repetition by doing hundreds of questions. Sure, you might be able to attack similar problems for the next week or so, but as soon as you stop practicing, the skill is lost. True mastery of physics comes from appreciation of principles, not mere recognition of patterns in problems...this text will help you achieve such an appreciation.

Texts like this are why many people fear physics.
I am a student at a university who has been forced to wade through this book, with little prior knowledge of the topic. The explanations for the theories and concepts are not incredible, but suffice. The problems, however, are torture. Simply having a couple of novice examples throughout the chapters, and then being thrown into the problems at the end with no help but for the ODD answers at the back of the text is not helpful, and not conducive to learning. Frustration is not a good method to get people to understand and/or enjoy a topic. I would not recommend this book for the novice, but can see how it can be used as a good reference book for those of more learning in the topic. A solutions manual really does need to exist, as that is how one learns this subject, through trial and error, and the answers in the back are simply not enough.

Down with Giancoli
Will someone please tell the King that he has no clothes on? Will someone please stop stocking Physics departments with books that are simply a flag for how clever we all are. "Look at this book chaps..."as we flaunt the open text, "bloody tough to understand, eh?!"

Giancoli is accurate and detailed. Giancoli is a fantastic text to dip into (for the most) able student. In my experience of delivering the subject within the English National Curriculum it is hopeless for the 'average' Physics student. Giancoli is black and white in a colourful world. Has anyone that has ordered this book ever seen a Tom Duncan? Have you looked at the Longman series? Streuth!

Why do 'we' make it so difficult for people to access our subject? ... Read more

Book Description

Features a clear, accessible treatment ofthe fundamentals of electromagnetic theory. Its lean and focused approachemploys numerous examples and problems.Carefully discussessubtle or difficult points. Contains numerous, relevant problems within thebook in addition to end of each chapter problems and answers. ... Read more

Reviews (65)

The Undergrad E&M Standard for Greatness.
Interesting. Insightful. Conceptually Complete. Great Mathematical Notation. Great Explanations. All of these and more could be said about David Griffiths' incredible book on Introductory E&M. David's writing style is next to none, the text is never boring and extremely insightful. The various chapters are structured extremely well. It "flows" extrodinarily well from section to section. He conveys very well the enormous and far reaching applicability of the science of E&M.
Griffiths often uses physical arguments by analogy instead of mathematical rigour to convey many physical ideas. He treats the math like it should be treated in physics, as a language to work with ideas, not as a hindrance blocking their meaning. His mathematical notation is so completely natural and reader friendly, you get used to it very quickly. The examples are insightful and the problems, while challenging, are well thought out.

Every diamond has its fault, and this textbook's fault is its lack of a student solutions manual and answers in the back. However, the quality of writing GREATLY overwealms this fault, hence the 5 star rating. With this textbook, a good instructor, and a little hard work, you WILL learn E&M.

Cool and informal
This introductory book on Electrodynamics is one of the coolest and informal books I have ever read in my student life. I have used the book as an undergraduate and I still use it even now in my post-graduate study. The physical insights offered by the author in almost all the chapters are invaluable and interesting.Problems in Electrodynamics can be mathematically very demanding, but the book stands on it's own feet and the mathematical background required to use the book is more or less sufficient. The exercises are well thought-out /collected,but a major source of irritation is the lack of solutions or even answers for that matter. Dr Griffiths should understand that an elementary treatise such as this is used by a good proportion of the student community (who do not always have contact with a good teacher) for self-study. Such students need someone to hold his hands and be led into such an interesting area of classical physics. Moreover, when Landau can offer offer solutions to the problems in his Course of Theoretical Physics, Dr Griffiths shouldn't mind giving hints and solutions to the problems. If the author doesn't want to share the solutions in the textbook, a solutions manual should be sold in the market. However, a solution manual is available,from the publishers, but only for teachers who should be able to solve the problems on their own. Even many teachers have privately admitted the problems are beyond their capacity without suitable hints. So, how can the author expect students to solve most of the problems on their own? I have seen many students not following the book, precisely due to lack of solutions , and due to that I can only give four stars out of five. Also, the author needs to dispense with the idea of introducing new concepts in the exercises. But if one forgets that, I would say, the book is surely raccommended to beginners and a good book to start with before graduating to Jackson.

What the hell is this?
This book sucks. Griffths, if you can spend your most time typying FREE solution manual for instructors, and let them cut and copy it and scan them on to their class website, why don't you offer students a solution manual. Why do we have to spend 100 bucks for this thing. I really don't understand the people that wrote GOOD reviews about this book. no answers in the back. skip steps in examples, the author is trying to punk you.

Positives & Negatives
I'll begin with the NEGATIVES because there are fewer:

- No solutions and difficult end-of-chapter problems for some of the chapters make it very difficult to use this outside of a class
-Examples are good but they ill-prepare you for the end-problems

POSITIVE
-Very easy to read
-Good descriptions and explanations of phenomena
-Good simple examples with straightforward solutions (would like more)

Overall, I give it a 4/5. It's the first book I've used to study E&M beyond basic physics and I was mostly happy.

The best around.
This book is wonderful. I used it for a 1 year junior-level course at UERJ and I can say it was perfect.

I really don't understand the people that wrote bad reviews about this book. First of all, they seem not to understand that this book is AN INTRODUCTION. There exist excellents books on advanced material (Jackson, Schwinger...), but I doubt anyone has begun with those.

Some of those reviewers say that the math in the book is too elementary. So what? This is a EM course, not a Mathematical Physics one. If you want to struggle with Bessel or others horribles special functions, get Griffiths problems and change them by yourself so that the eigenfunctions are those you want. If you want Green's function, go ahead, you can solve lots of Griffiths' problems with it. But this is not the point. This is a physics book, and the discussion on the fenomena are very good. In my opinion the math used is that you do need to understand the physics.

Other constant complaint is the lack of problem solutions saying that without them you cannot know if you're learning. Well, particularly, it didn't bother me. The problems are very well selected and cover a wide range of difficulty. The easy ones should tell you if you're doing well. And, despite of what others have said, the problems make this a very good book for self-studying.

Finally, I don't understand the complaints about Griffiths' colloquial style. Some other (well celebrated) authors share the same informal writing style and everybody call them genious. Actually, this makes the book very pleasant to read thorough leaving the hard work to the problems. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Great Message Pattern Language
This a book about enterprise integration solutions, authors claim that they are technology neutral, it is true. In the examples and implementations, they chose 3 most popular messaging frameworks to illustrate the patterns. However, they are pretty biased toward messaging as the "better" solution to enterprise integration strategy. It may have a lot of edges over the other approaches, sometimes it is just easy to use a simple wrapper/facade to do the integration. But I guess authors really intend to push their messaging solutions as the subtitle indicates.

Having said that, this is an excellent book of message pattern language, which I believe is the first one introducing the interesting topic. The books touches from the architectural patterns, e.g., messaging bus, pipe and filters, to common design patterns, e.g., publish/subscribe, request/reply, to some patterns that most MOMs provide as integrated solutions, e.g., durable subscriber, message filter, message expiration etc. With all these patterns at hand, a system architect would be able to craft a messaging pattern-oriented enterprise integration architecture by applying the appropriate patterns compositely.

The book would be better if authors describe some patterns implementation in more detail. E.g., it would be interesting to see how the message expiration is implemented, does the message contain a timer or the message channel monitor each individual message from start up? How does the channel interact with the message and check the expiry? Guaranteed delivery is another example. I know most of these implementation details only interest MOM developers, whereas pattern users are only interested in how and when to apply the patterns, but now that the book is about patterns themselves, implementation details would be appreciated.

Since all the patterns introduced in the book form a messaging pattern language, knowing each pattern's strength and limitation under the context, scope and different forces, and how it interacts with other patterns to form a bigger(composite) pattern are essential to grasp the pattern language. A collaboration diagram to show each pattern's transition/migration/composition to each other would be helpful.

Good Stuff
Enterprise Integration Patterns is part of Addison-Wesley's new Martin Fowler Signature Series, which Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture (PoEAA) is also a part of. I was very satisfied with PoEAA and the same can be said about Enterprise Integration Patterns. It has the potential to become a classic.

The authors' writing style is a pleasure to read -- no ambiguous statements, no unnecessary babbling. The book is structured to suit both cover-to-cover reading and a "dive-in" approach for situations where you're looking for a solution to a particular problem. After an introduction to the field of enterprise integration, and a discussion of why the book concentrates on the messaging integration style in particular, the reader is given a hierarchical catalog of patterns revolving around a small set of "core" patterns. The book's coverage is in my opinion very well scoped.

I must also praise the look of the book; besides the layout being familiar from prior works and the proven pattern catalog structuring, the authors have used graphics very efficiently. Not only the authors define a vocabulary for integration patterns, but they have also come up with an expressive visual language for illustrating the patterns using simple notations that can be easily drawn without CASE tools.

I found only two downsides for this book. First, the title can be slightly misleading as the book focuses on messaging as an integration style and only briefly mentions alternatives such as RPC, file transfer, and shared databases. However, I don't know a single person who doesn't read the back cover before buying a book, so I wouldn't count this as a big issue. Furthermore, the reason for focusing on messaging is thoroughly argued in the book. The second downside is the code examples, which are presented using varying languages and products and seem somehow disconnected from the text.

In summary, Enterprise Integration Patterns is a great book. It's worth reading and re-reading if you're working with systems integration projects or writing integration software yourself. Yet another book that makes me think, "I wish I had it back then..."

Architects guide
Overall I am quite impressed with the quality of this book. The authors took a great look at the patterns involved in messaging architectures as traditionally practiced in EAI applications. If you are an experienced architect, you will find the patterns applied to many enterprise applications. If you don't have a few large-scale type projects under your belt, you won't think many of the suggestions are useful, applicable, or even necessary. If you do, though, reading this book will be well worth your time.

The best technical book of 2004
I had been waiting for this book for several years. There are many good books on software architecture using synchronous communication, but nothing on asynchronous communication --- the typical scheme when connecting existing applications. This is surprising since the underlying products (MQ, MSMQ, WebMethods, Vitria, etc.) have been around for a while, some for more than 10 years, and the techniques have become increasingly well understood by the practitioners. There are even some books on the individual products --- several on MQ for example --- but nothing more general about how to use messaging, message routing, and message transformation to build a larger system.

This is the book I had been waiting for. Furthermore the authors have avoided the usual three pitfalls of technical books: it is well organized, it well written, and it is deep treatment, not at all superficial.

The book is organized into 65 patterns (in the manner of the classic _Design Patterns_). Each pattern shows one typical problem in integrating applications, and how it is solved. Each pattern gives enough implementation details so it is clear how it would work, and an example or two so it is clear how it works in practice. For example the Message Expiration pattern addresses the problem of "How can a sender of a message indicate when a message should be considered stale and thus shouldn't be processed?"

The writing in this book is clear. For example "A Message Expiration is like the expiration date on a milk carton. After that date, you shouldn't drink the milk." The authors have also invented icons for each of their patterns. Their icon language allows a integration architecture to be visuallized in a way that UML does not provide.

Amongst the 11 pattern-describing chapters are 3 "interludes", chapter-length examples that explain a problem, show how patterns can combined to solve it, and then provide implementations in different technologies (JMS, .Net, TIBCO, MSMQ, etc.).

My only beef with this book is that it is long and dense: almost 700 pages. I bought it in late December 2003 and I am only finishing it now. But it is hard to say what should have been cut. Certainly none of the patterns are unnecessary, and the decription of each feels like about the right length. The interludes are also useful for seeing how the patterns fit together. So maybe this book just needs to be 700 pages.

A Wonderful, Wonderful Book
Gregor has a gift for explaining design patterns. We were trying to explain the problems with passing a large file up and down a messaging bus to our bioinformatics users, when I ran across Enterprise Integration Patterns. As soon as I showed the Claim Check pattern to our designers, they got it instantly. Five of my colleagues purchased the book, and we asked Gregor to come teach a class on it. This is the best written book on design patterns I've seen. I reallly like the list of patterns inside the book cover -- nice terse explanation, and great mnemonic icons. ... Read more

Book Description

"Derman’s memoir of his transition from mathematical physicist to expert finance whiz at Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers reads like a novel, but tells a lot about brains applied to making money grow."
–Paul A. Samuelson, MIT, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, 1970

"Not only a delightful memoir, but one full of information, both about people and their enterprise. I never thought that I would be interested in quantitative financial analysis, but reading this book has been a fascinating education."
–Jeremy Bernstein, author of Oppenheimer: Portrait of an Enigma

"This wonderful autobiography takes place in that special time when scientists discovered Wall Street and Wall Street discovered them.It is elegantly written by a gifted observer who was a pioneering member of the new profession of financial engineering, with an evident affection both for finance as a science and for the scientists who practice it.Derman’s portrait of how the academics brought their new financial science to the world of business and forever changed it and, especially, his descriptions of the late and extraordinary genius Fischer Black who became his mentor, reveal a surprising humanity where it might be least expected.Who should read this book?Anyone with a serious interest in finance and everyone who simply wants to enjoy a good read."
–Stephen Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Finance and Economics, Sloan School, MIT

" … a deep and elegant exploration by a thinker who moved from the hardest of all sciences (physics) to the softest of the soft (finance). Derman is a different class of thinker; unlike most financial economists, he bears no physics envy and focuses on exploring the real intuitions behind the mechanisms themselves. In addition to stories and portraits, the book documents, in vivid detail, the methods of knowledge transfer. I know of no other book that bridges the two cultures. Finally, I am happy to discover that Derman has a third career: he is a writer."
–Nassim Taleb, author of Fooled by Randomness

"The quintessential quarky quant, Emanuel Derman has it all.Physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and poet blend together to produce a narrative that all financial engineers will find worth reading."
–Mark Rubinstein, Paul Stephens Professor of Applied Investment Analysis, University of California, Berkeley ... Read more

Book Description

No other book on the market today can match the success of Halliday, Resnick and Walker's Fundamentals of Physics! In a breezy, easy-to-understand style the book offers a solid understanding of fundamental physics concepts, and helps readers apply this conceptual understanding to quantitative problem solving.  The extended edition provides coverage of developments in Physics in the last 100 years, including:  Einstein and Relativity, Bohr and others and Quantum Theory, and the more recent theoretical developments like String Theory.  This book offers a unique combination of authoritative content and stimulating applications. ... Read more

Reviews (54)

Not The Best, Not the Worst
I used this as a text book for three semesters of University education. Some chapters are fine and quite readable, and others are random and completely lack organization. Some chapters take one point and beat it into the ground with a large baseball bat made out of lead, others mention something once and assume you understand it completely.

The examples are fair but compared to some of the chapter end questions you'd scarcely believe that they came from the same book, the difficulty varies greatly. As for the explanations even the best in this book I did not find as well stated or helpful to understanding as those found in Tipler's "Physics for Scientists and Engineers." Buy this book if you are taking a class and they require you to use it, buy it not if you are trying to learn physics on your own, as I doubt it will help you very much unless you already know it.

Highly overrated
Alright, so of course this is the book required by just about every college in the country these days in their introductory physics courses---well, it shouldn't be. The authors certainly provide mathematical motivation for the concepts they cover, but certainly don't give adequate real-world motivation for concepts. Oh yeah, so, as one idiot reviewer who thinks he's some kind of precocious student said, this book helped him and his high school buddies get fives on the AP Test---WELL BIG DEAL IDIOT!!! GOOD FOR YOU!! I only managed to do that in my freshman year of highschool so I guess it must be really hard or something--*cough* Well, in the real world of people who actually know anything about physics or math or any field, getting a five on the AP exam in highschool isn't anything special. Basically, this book will prepare you to pass exams and standardized tests--it won't give you understanding. For that, go somewhere worthwhile---for example, the Feynman Lectures on Physics, all three volumes of which cost about half as much as Halliday and Resnick's book.

is this a money-making gimmick or what?
Our physics department decided to switch to this book last year, and I have been trying to figure out which edition to buy.. "extended enhanced problem edition", "extended", "enhanced"? How about throwing in a student's companion text that contains "chapter extensions?"? What about getting the right Solutions manual? only 30% of the solutions are in it? And now I just found out they have published (another?) new 7th edition which no doubt will have a brand new array of essential supplements and extensions. Why all these editions and supplements?

Average text, but costs too much
This is an average text, which means there are things about this book that are both good and bad. Let me begin with the good. "Fundamentals" is a fairly rigorous text. There are many topics contained in this book and each topic is covered in adequate depth and there are a large number and variety of problems to solve for each topic. Also, like any good calc-based physics text should, it introduces vectors early and sticks with the use of vectors and vector components throughout the text.

There are, however, some bad aspects to this book. The biggest problem with this text (and most others) is it's terse treatment of inertial reference frames. A more indepth examination of reference frames would probably reduce student frustration later on when solving problems.

My other big gripe with this book is its outrageous cost. $140 is just too much for a text. My suggestion is this, if you're enrolled in a physics course that requires this text, just check out an intro physics book from your library if you can. If you're autodidactic, look into Dover Thrift books. You can get a physics text there with all the same material for about 1/7th the cost of "Fundamentals".

NEGATIVE 5 STARS
This book, and it's complimenting e-grade system has made Physics the worst experience of my college life thus far. The problems are confusing, the grammar is very poor, and the book lacks organization. The worst thing is the e-grade system. Picky and ungodly slow, it has frustrated hundreds of students, as well as their professors. I found myself at the tip of anger when it took me over 5 hours to complete an assignment, simply because the pages took around 5-10 minutes to load.

Please DO NOT SUPPORT THESE PEOPLE. They are evil and need to be banished from writing bad textbooks and frustrating students further. ... Read more

Book Description

This Sixth Edition helps readers understand the interrelationships among basic physics concepts and how they fit together to describe our physical world. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize the relevance of physics to our everyday lives.
Real-world physics applications, including many biomedical applications, show how physics principles come into play over and over again in our lives.
Problem Solving Insights explain each calculation in detail, guiding readers through the quantitative process
Includes a CD containing physics simulations ... Read more

Reviews (13)

An excellent book for a particular audience
This is an excellent book for a high school level physics course or a less than rigorous Physics I course at the college level. It contains no math beyond algebra/trig. For a more rigorous treatment, the book to get is the Serway/Beichner text.

Great Physics Starter Book
I found this to be an excellent book for those with a physics phobia. All theories are explained using simple mathematics thus making it easier to understand. There are several questions worked out with thorough explinations in every chapter and the text explains how each new idea is related to other concepts learned earlier in the book and/or chapter.

There are couple of weaknesses in this text that stand out in my mind. First, there is a section in each chapter that quizes you on conceptual questions but there are no answers in the back of the book making it difficult to be certian about your work. Second, the web page associated with this book is riddled with errors and is not much of a tool. In spite of these problems I would recomend it to someone just starting physics.

an eyesore
This book is painful to read. There are far too many unnecessary pictures, colored boxes, sidenotes, etc. The text itself is straightforward and would suffice with minimal digrams. This is simple material folks! There is no reason to overkill with embellishments. I don't appreciate all of the extra books (I paid enough for the text already) and internet resources. If I were a physics major I might appreciate these extra resources, however, most people (myself included) in an algebra based physics course are there only to fill a requirement.

Monopolizing on the college text book market.
I did not like Physics nor did I enjoy this absolutely boring and dry book detailing what physics is and how it works. What makes this book even more easy to dislike is that they come out with a new edition so often that the whole purpose of selling your book back to the school book store is not an option because the university will carry the newer addition next term. What Cutnell and Johnson need to do is spend less time writing new material to put in the new addition to feed their hungry pockets and more time expressing formulas and equations that actually compliment the examples and problems within the text.

Good book for first time physics reader
I used this book in my college physics I & II classes. The book is easy to read and provides some easy calculation questions to practice. However, it does not go to much about the concept. Even it touches the idea, it would not explain enough for you to know exactly what the theory is. There are many book After-Chapter questions. The best way to learn from these questions is to buy the answer supplement for this book. If you are not goint to take health professional tests, like MCAT.. This book would give you the path for physics. ... Read more

Book Description

Physics for Scientists and Engineers combines outstanding pedagogy with a clear and direct narrative and applications that draw the reader into the physics. The new edition features an unrivaled suite of media and on-line resources that enhance the understanding of physics. Many new topics have been incorporated such as: the Otto cycle, lens combinations, three-phase alternating current, and many more. New developments and discoveries in physics have been added including the Hubble space telescope, age and inflation of the universe, and distant planets. Modern physics topics are often discussed within the framework of classical physics where appropriate. For scientists and engineers who are interested in learning physics. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good introduction to physics.
In all fairness to the book, it's not as bad as I made it out to be below. It is a little upsetting to be given tons of equations without any proofs. But the proofs really are beyond the scope of the book. I've looked at other books of the same level since I wrote the original review, and this one has turned out to be better than all the others. The book would've been better if they mentioned a few extra things like how its treatment of electricity and magnetism should be taken as only working in an absolute frame, and is only an approximation to the full treatment.

All in all, this book covers so many topics, that no matter what physics you are doing in the future, you'll always be able to find some information in here that won't be mentioned in your other book.

It covers everything you need to know for a first mechanics course, a course in waves and modern physics, a first course in electricity and magnetism, plus a lot more that is never touched in class. Calculus is not needed for the mechanics course, but it is used in the book. If you know calculus, then you'll benefit. If you don't, you can skip the "calculus equations", and the rest of the mechanics part of the book will still all be comprehensible.

Excellent Freshman Physics Textbook
You are blessed if your professor adopts this book as your textbook. This book presents the physics concepts with rare clarity. It abounds with great number of examples and problems. The overall difficulty level of this book is more challenging than other popular college physics textooks that are available today. A good foundation of senior high school honor Physics and AP physics is certainly helpful. Some selection of topics, such as Coriolis Effect, should capture the imaginations of young minds. This book is currently adpoted as textook at UC-Berkeley (Physics 7 series) and MIT (physics 8.01).

Decent but way expensive
I had to buy this book for my two general physics courses. I must say this book is the most expensive I've ever bought. This leads me to my first bad critique: this book is unnecessarily large and expensive. The book is full of useless pictures (all in vibrant expensive color), it has too many examples and 1/3 of the majority of the pages are blank. I don't recommend this book if your a poor college student. My second bad critique is that some examples aren't fully explained (particularly with the some equations). Third bad critique: some problems require knowledge that you won't find in the book. There was an instance where I ran into a problem (a double Atwood machine problem) that required knowledge of Newton's laws in non-inertial frames which the book does not provide. I managed to solve this problem with outside help but I must say I felt cheated. My last bad critique: this book has no errata yet!
Now for some good points. The authors exposition of the material is fairly straight-forward. The book is full of problems (some which overly challenging but good nevertheless), covers a great number of topics (45 chapters worth), and uses very little calculus (the majority of the problems involve highschool mathematics).

Not a very good physics book
If you're a beginner or not interested in physics stay away from this book. Its mostly geared towards people with high interest and a good reference. Otherwise, the book is very boring to read and all they do is throw formulas at you. Stay away at all costs.

A decent intro to Physics.
I am currently taking a calculus-based physics course in my freshman year using Serway's text (Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Sixth Edition). I purchased Giancoli's text because it has the same type of material and a solutions manual to accompany it. I am now in my third term and, having used both books for the first two terms, I can say that Serway's book is probably a better choice for those majoring in physics such as myself. The reason I make this claim is that Serway's derivations are a little more riggerous in most cases and in the exercises Serway FORCES you to develop and derive equations for the perticular problem at hand (precicely what a physicist in the "real world" must be able to do to be successful), whereas Giancoli rarely gives problems that cannot be solved directly by substituting values into given equations. This discrepency can sometimes be troubling though to those not used to having to decide what assumptions to make for themselves.

However, neither book can give a student a complete insight into the complicated subject of physics. Each is a pretty good text for a first course in physics and the level of calculus used in each is very basic (a study of basic differential and integral calculus will do fine). ... Read more

Book Description

A myth-shattering book that explains why energy is not scarce, why the price of energy doesn't matter very much, and why "waste" of energy is both necessary and desirable.

The sheer volume of talk about energy, energy prices, and energy policy on both sides of the political aisle suggests that we must know something about these subjects.But according to Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills, the things we think we know are mostly myths.In The Bottomless Well, Huber and Mills show how a better understanding of energy will radically change our views and policies on a number of very controversial issues.

Writing in take-no-prisoners, urgently compelling prose, Huber and Mills explain why demand for energy will never go down, why most of what we think of as "energy waste" actually benefits us; why more efficient cars, engines, and bulbs will never lower demand, and why energy supply is infinite.In the automotive sector, gas prices matter less and less, and hybrid engines will most likely lead us to cars propelled by the coal-fired grid.As for the much-maligned power grid itself, it's the worst system we could have except for all the proposed alternatives.Expanding energy supplies mean higher productivity, more jobs, and a growing GDP.Across the board, energy isn't the problem, energy is the solution. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Just do the math(s)!
The fact that anyone could be taken in by the delirious pseudo-science presented in this book is a sad reflection on the level of mathematical innumeracy in our culture. For a free summary of much of the real arithmetic of energy: see http://dieoff.org/synopsis.htm. I can only imagine that the authors of this book have cynically concluded that telling people what they want to hear can be very profitable, even though all the actual evidence fails to support such false optimism. The authors' thesis is about as plausible as "Intelligent Design", and falls apart just as quickly when subjected to rational analysis. If you find yourself being lulled into a dangerous belief in this book's claims, then I've got an idea for a perpetual motion machine, to which I'd love to sell you the rights!
Dave Hodgson [Graduate Electronic Engineer, US & Japan Patent Holder, for inventions that actually work!]

a mix of well-supported argument and optimistic speculation
I found this to be an entertaining, exciting, optimism-generating book, but after reading it I'm afraid I can't be as optimistic as the authors are. On the one hand, a large component of the book is essentially just spelling out the laws of thermodynamics, and it can't be argued with. Of the myths they debunk, in several cases they make their case quite well--there is always going to be energy waste (that's part of the laws of thermodynamics), increases in efficiency do not result in reduced consumption of energy, and overall demand for energy is continually increasing. I think their suggested path of oil-independence not by continuing to expand the burning of coal (as the U.S. has been doing for the last few decades) but by building new nuclear capacity is sensible. They suggest some other technologies that may also turn out positively (including nuclear fusion). Their comments on the alternative energy production methods already in place (diesel generators and delivery trucks) are fascinating.

Where I part ways with the authors is on their assumption that continued success in finding new sources of energy (or better ways at getting at current sources of energy) is inevitable. Yes, we've been successful so far, but this is one area where we can be certain that in a long enough run, the past will not predict the future. (Or, alternatively, they make the mistake of not looking at other relevant past records, like the records of both species extinctions and civilizations that collapse.) I was almost expecting the authors to cite Frank Tipler's The Physics of Immortality, as part of an argument for an infinite human future. They don't go quite as far as Tipler, arguing that we could upload ourselves into a computer simulation which would produce infinite computation and allow all possibilities to berealized in a finite future--they limit the future to "as long as the sun continues to shine, and the planet rotates, and the depths of the cosmos stay cold" (p. 188).

There is much of value in this book. Like a recent issue of The Economist (April 23-29, 2005), they present arguments for a rational environmentalism that accounts for costs and benefits, and show that steps to preserve a clean environment are a good and effective use of some of the increased energy consumption (at the cost of reduced efficiency).

I recommend the book, with reservations. The parts that are founded on implications of the laws of thermodynamics and solid research support are sound, but there are also claims which run far beyond the support provided (like "we will never run out of energy").

Should be "Required Reading" for ALL politicians!
A brilliant shift in thinking, truly "out of the box."Politicians and other policy/lawmakers should be required to not only read this book, but take an intense test on it.Those failing would be sent back to reread it.

This is certainly one of the most positive books on the entire subject of "energy," that little known and less understood subject.Though obviously from an open market perspective, there is no political ranting or even excoriating one side or the other of the political spectrum."Just the facts, ma'am" seems to be their credo.In laying out those facts, we are treated to a new understanding of what "energy does and does not mean.Along with that is a highly hopeful prediction for the world's energy/power supplies, along with an introduction to the world of quantum physics, heretofore little known or understood by the lay reader.

Insightful!
Most books on energy proceed with all the plodding predictability of an oil station pumping up and down in the middle of Nowhere, Texas: There's only so much oil, it's being consumed faster and faster, so someday the spigot must squeak dry. Authors and contrarians Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills stand up in the court of global opinion to pound loudly on the oil drum of iconoclasm. The question before the world jury: Is this a work of genius, or a perfect illustration of the fact that some energy is indeed wasted? This book reflects diligent-if-tendentious research and unapologetically advances highly unpopular, and potentially inaccurate, theories. These include the notion that making industrial processes more energy efficient results in increased consumption. It asserts that energy development is a perpetual motion machine that rewards increased consumption with ever-expanding supplies, and that wasting energy is both inevitable and virtuous, as it leads ultimately to greater supply and production. This last notion is not so far-fetched in light of nuclear fusion and the ongoing convergence of digital and genetic technologies. Werecommend this unique perspective to those interested in a different take on the world's sustainability dilemma. If nothing else, it will give you something extremely controversial to read while the jury is still out.

Could have been condensed into a long magazine article.
Mankind keeps progressing technologically to the use of ever more efficient and refined forms of energy.Demand for high-grade power will keep rising, requiring new sources of fuel -- which are available in almost unlimited supply. A fossil-fuel based economy is less damaging to the environment than a carbohydrate-fueled (agricultural) economy, contrary to popular belief.As the transportation and manufacturing sectors of the economy shift to using more electrical power, we should turn to nuclear power to generate it.Solar and wind power will remain insignificant in meeting demand.These are the main points of the book, in the opinion of this technology-dummy reviewer.The book seems unfocused and rambling -- maybe it would have been better if it had been condensed into a long magazine article.Update:there is an article by Huber and Mills in the Winter 2005 issue of City Journal (available online) advocating nuclear power that repeats the arguments of the book in less detailed form. ... Read more

Amazon.com

As a boy, Brian Greene read Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus and was transformed. Camus, in Greene's paraphrase, insisted that the hero triumphs "by relinquishing everything beyond immediate experience." After wrestling with this idea, however, Greene rejected Camus and realized that his true idols were physicists; scientists who struggled "to assess life and to experience the universe at all possible levels, not just those that happened to be accessible to our frail human senses." His driving question in The Fabric of the Cosmos, then, is fundamental: "What is reality?" Over sixteen chapters, he traces the evolving human understanding of the substrate of the universe, from classical physics to ten-dimensional M-Theory.

Assuming an audience of non-specialists, Greene has set himself a daunting task: to explain non-intuitive, mathematical concepts like String Theory, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Inflationary Cosmology with analogies drawn from common experience. For the most part, he succeeds. His language reflects a deep passion for science and a gift for translating concepts into poetic images. When explaining, for example, the inability to see the higher dimensions inherent in string theory, Greene writes: "We don't see them because of the way we see…like an ant walking along a lily pad…we could be floating within a grand, expansive, higher-dimensional space."

For Greene, Rhodes Scholar and professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, speculative science is not always as thorough and successful. His discussion of teleportation, for example, introduces and then quickly tables a valuable philosophical probing of identity. The paradoxes of time travel, however, are treated with greater depth, and his vision of life in a three-brane universe is compelling and--to use his description for quantum reality--"weird."

In the final pages Greene turns from science fiction back to the fringes of science fact, and he returns with rigor to frame discoveries likely to be made in the coming decades. "We are, most definitely, still wandering in the jungle," he concludes. Thanks to Greene, though, some of the underbrush has been cleared. --Patrick O'Kelley ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling, calculus-based text is recognized for its carefully crafted, logical presentation of the basic concepts and principles of physics. PHYSICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, Sixth Edition, maintains the Serway traditions of concise writing for the students, carefully thought-out problem sets and worked examples, and evolving educational pedagogy. This edition introduces a new co-author, Dr. John Jewett, at Cal PolyPomona, known best for his teaching awards and his role in the recently published PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICS, Third Edition, also written with Ray Serway. Providing students with the tools they need to succeed in introductory physics, the Sixth Edition of this authoritative text features unparalleled media integration and a newly enhanced supplemental package for instructors and students! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good introductory text
This was the required text for a course I TAed. I found the text useful for preparing my own lectures, as it often reminded me of ideas I would have 'taken for granted' among my students, although I found derivations often uncompelling and examples often glossing over subtle points. Also, examples and homework problems seemed predominantly to explore only straightforward applications of course concepts. I imagine, however, that many students at this level (freshmen bio, geo, and non-science majors) would prefer this kind of treatment, which is why, considering also this text's clarity and simplicity of presentation, I gave the above four star rating.

Students who consider themselves more analytically inclined would be wise to consult instead Purcell. In fewer words Purcell describes E&M more clearly and more completely, with interesting examples and homework problems which evoke a fuller understanding of the theory. ... Read more