List price: $19.99 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $1.69
Buy one from zShops for: $4.68
Used price: $44.01
Buy one from zShops for: $44.01
Indras pearls provides a very well-made introduction to the basics of the theory of discrete groups acting on the complex plane. The whole discussion on the related limit sets had been accomplished in such a hand-by-hand method.
The reader starts from complex numbers and after he is led into the deepest concepts: Möbius trasformations, limit sets of discrete groups (Schottky, Fuchsian, ...).
These limit sets are related to another interesting topic in today maths: complex dynamics on the Riemann sphere (Julia sets, ...).
As known, computer experiments had been fundamental for supporting complex dynamics and the successive success of this latter topic helped to promote and increase the interests for discrete groups too: in fact this book evinces already strong interest in the visualization and in the study of the properties of such limit sets since '80s, due to the efforts of the same authors.
One of the major points of attraction in Indra pearls is that all the theory had been helped by displaying a lot of detailed and colorful pictures which, aside the historical biography of the mathematicians that contributed to this theory, set this book as one of the masterpieces in this topic, for his lucid
and fresh approach to basic concepts.
In addition, the presence of amusing comic-strips, explaining some topological concepts on manifolds (for example), guarantees the easy-learning for the reader and also the approach, as imaginaed and completely accomplished by the authors. In this direction, it is clear how passion had been squandered by authors.
The goal has been reached: finding an easy way to introduce the harsch theory of discrete groups.
Interested readers will be rewarded and also excited.
No doubts: this book strikes and it will be a corner-stone for present and future.
That is, the reader starts from complex numbers and, after, he is taken into deepest concepts as Möbius trasformations and so to discontinuous groups (Schottky, Fuchsian, ...).
Limit sets of kleinian groups are related to another interesting topic in today maths: complex dynamics on the Riemann sphere (Julia sets, ...). The success of this latter topic helped to increase the interests for discontinuous groups too. Indra pearls also witnesses and resumes the last twenty years of efforts spent for studying the properties of the limit sets.
One of the major points of attraction in Indra pearls is that all the theory had been helped by displaying a lot of detailed and colorful pictures which, aside the historical biography of the mathematicians that contributed to this theory, set this book as one of the masterpieces in this topic, for his lucid
and fresh approach to basic concepts.
In addition, the presence of amusing comic-strips, explaining some topological concepts on manifolds, guarantees the easy-learning of the approach, achieved by the authors. In this direction, it could be evinced that authors were really enjoyed while writing.
The goal has been reached: finding an easy way to introduce the harsch theory of discontinuous groups.
Interested readers will be rewarded about their choice and also excited.
Used price: $5.95
List price: $10.95 (that's 10% off!)
Used price: $6.99
Buy one from zShops for: $7.00
David Wade brilliantly summarizes the latest research into the catastrophic event that led America into the second world war; a scathing indictment of the duplicity of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The author places the Pearl Harbor attack in the context of the prewar diplomacy of Roosevelt, and shows how the President knew the attack was coming. But Roosevelt deliberately kept our military commanders in Hawaii in the dark, probably a far greater act of treason than committed by Johnny Walker Lindh.
Mr. Wade artfully drew dramatic parallels between the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the surprise attack on the World Trade Center and Pentegon, connecting December 7 with December 11.
But this book was actually two books in one. I really enjoyed the supplemental information in the back of the book about Presidential Succession.
I was amazed to learn that if there were a nuclear terror act in Washington that claimed the lives of Bush, Cheney and Hastert, then our new president would be none other than Ted Stevens of Alaska!!!
List price: $18.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $11.20
Buy one from zShops for: $9.01
The opening introduction and background section is totally inadequate. While the author takes time to mention Hawaii's historical background, he makes less effort to paint the immediate causes of the attack. There is no mention of either the Chinese invasion of China in 1937 that led to the deterioration of US-Japanese relations or the Russo-Japanese border fighting in 1939-40 that shaped Japanese strategic conceptions away from further Eurasian entanglements. The statement that the "US Pacific Fleet was a deterrent" is misleading; that was how FDR viewed it, not the Japanese, who saw it as a threat to their expansionist ambitions in the Pacific. Even Admiral Kimmel, who commanded the Pacific Fleet, felt wholesale transfers of men and vessels to the Atlantic undermined its deterrence value.
The section on opposing commanders is more than a bit rambling and has odd choices of individuals, some of whom were not military commanders involved directly in the campaign. The US section has Kimmel, Short, Stark, Marshall, Hull and FDR. The Japanese section has Yamamoto, Fuchida, Genda, Nagumo and Nomura. Certainly politicians and diplomats such as FDR, Hull and Nomura do not belong here. Noticeably absent are the US air commanders in Hawaii, Bloch and Martin, who certainly bore some responsibility for the defeat. The entry for Nagumo is misleading, implying that he committed suicide at Saigon in 1944 "when the inevitable result of the war became clear." Instead, Nagumo was commander of the naval base on Saipan and committed suicide when US troops overran the island. The entry for Yamamoto that claims he was, "a man who fought but wanted peace" is nauseating. Just what did he ever do for peace? The chronology section, although detailed, is also marked with misleading or erroneous entries, further complicated by the fact that the author does not specify what time zone he is using. For example, he states that the Japanese fleet sailed on 25 November, but local time was actually 26 November. The crucial 27 November "war warning" is falsely delivered as advising Kimmel and Short that negotiations had failed and to "be prepared for any eventuality." It said no such thing.
Although there is a section on the Japanese attack plan, there is no section on US defensive plans or the Rainbow War Plan. The author should have mentioned the Martin-Bellinger studied which addressed the vulnerability of Oahu to air attack. In the Japanese section, there is no mention of the vociferous opposition to the raid and how Yamamoto had to threaten resigning in order to get the operation approved. The whole approach to Japan's strategy is euphemistic: "Japan expanded into Asia..."and the US "thwarted every Japanese attempt to extend Asian influence," instead of, the US sought to contain Japanese aggression. There are many other errors in this section, some so mundane, like claiming that the Japanese task force sailed from "Tankan Bay" instead of Hittokappu bay, that it is a wonder that the author even bothered to peruse secondary sources.
Amazingly, the sections on the actual attack are quite good. To be fair, they are better than Gordon Prange provides in his long-winded At Dawn We Slept. Smith provides excellent maps and graphics for the attacks on each air base and the naval facilities, as well as a decent textual summary. Three-D maps are provided for the first and second wave attacks, as well as the attack on Hickam Field. There is even a map depicting US naval movements in Pearl during the attack, which is most unusual. Several excellent illustrations and many photos complement the text. Overall, these 36 pages that cover the attack (one more page than Prange) are excellent.
Unfortunately, in the aftermath section the author reverts to his misleading tendencies. He claims "all eight [US] battleships [were] sunk or heavily damaged," which is totally wrong. The USS Maryland and Pennsylvania were only slightly damaged and soon available for service, USS Tennessee was moderately damaged. His follow-up conclusions are overly generalized and ignore the immediate affects of the raid.
Overall, this a handy, colorful summary volume, but it should not be used as a substitute for serious history. Unfortunately, the author has taken far too many liberties with the historical record for this to be considered a reliable summary.
Used price: $7.42
Buy one from zShops for: $10.39
Reynolds book is somewhat dry, but the details show how FDR worked to get us into the good war. He led the USA into public opinion about the reasons why the country should support the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
Used price: $6.50
By Shelly Tanaka & David Craig
Would you like to have lived in the time of Pearl Harbor? Almost everything was on fire in the harbor. The first attack was at 7:55 am and 183 planes attacked. The second attack was at 10:00 am and 170 planes attacked. It was a horrifying experience for those who lived through it.
I liked this book because it told me about history and the famous Pearl Harbor. The paintings are beautiful. The paintings help the reader to picture the story and to show how people felt.
If you like history and sad stories this is the book for you. The author tries to tell you to always be ready. We are no longer enemies with the Japanese, but will America stop other attacks?