This book is an excellent compliation of articles written for mathematicians who want to understand quantum field theory. It is not surprising then that the articles are very formal and there is no attempt to give any physical intuition to the subject of quantum field theory. This does not mean however that aspiring physicists who want to specialize in quantum field theory should ont take a look at the contents. The two volumes are worth reading, even if every article cannot be read because of time constraints. All of the articles are written by the some of the major players in the mathematics of quantum field theory. Volume 1 starts off with a glossary of the terms used by physicists in quantum field theory and is nicely written. The next few hundred pages are devoted to supersymmetry and supermanifolds. A very abstract approach is given to these areas, with the emphasis not on computation but on the structure of supermanifolds as they would be studied mathematically. There is an article on classical field theory put in these pages, which is written by Pierre Deligne and Daniel Freed, and discussed in the framework of fiber bundles. The discussion of topological terms in the classical Lagrangian is especially well written. There is an introduction to smooth Deligne cohomology in this article, and this is nice because of the difficulty in finding understandable literature on this subject. Part Two of Volume 1 is devoted to the formal mathematical aspects of quantum field theory. After a short introduction to canonical quantization, the Wightman approach is discussed in an article by David Kazhdan. Most refreshing is that statement of Kazhdan that the Wightman approach does not work for gauge field theories. This article is packed with interesting insights, especially the section on scattering theory, wherein Kazdan explains how the constructions in scattering theory have no finite dimensional analogs. The article by Witten on the Dirac operator in finite dimensions is fascinating and a good introduction to how powerful concepts from quantum field theory can be used to prove important results in mathematics. A fairly large collection of problems (with solutions) ends Volume 1. The first part of Volume 2 is devoted entirely to the mathematics of string theory and conformal field theory. The article by D'Hoker stands out as one that is especially readable and informative. D. Gaitsgory has a well written article on vertex algebras and defines in a very rigorous manner the constructions that occur in the subject. The last part of Volume 2 discusses the dynamics of quantum field theory and uses as much mathematical rigor as possible. One gets the impression that it this is the area where it is most difficult to proceed in an entirely rigorous way. Path integrals, not yet defined mathematically and used throughout the discussion. The best article in Volume 2, indeed of the entire two volumes is the one on N = 2 Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. It is here that the most fascinating constructions in all of mathematics find their place. These two volumes are definitely worth having on one's shelf, and the price is very reasonable considering the expertise of the authors and considering what one will take away after reading them.

These articles are great. Fills the ubiquitous need to retract the gap between then conceptual and rigorous framework of the subjects.

Physicists interested in the mathematical aspects of quantum field/string theory would do well to read these volumes as well.

Deserving, in my opinion, more than 5 stars -- many more!!

His Pulitzer Prize winning career ended when his award-winning story proved phony. His health has turned shaky when he learned that he turned HIV-positive. Now as he sinks deeper into the morass of non-living, all Benjamin Justice wants is to be left alone. However, ignoring her calls, not washing, shaving, brushing his teeth, and insulting her fails to deter Charlotte Preston. She wants Benjamin to write a book counter-arguing sleazy celeb-biographer Randall Capri's degrading look at Charlotte's recently deceased father, TV and movie star Rod Preston.

Unable to refuse the $25K advance and $25K follow-up, Benjamin accepts the job. He explains to Charlotte for that amount of money she owns full editorial license to change his words to include whatever the hell that she wants to write. However, before Benjamin can begin his inquiries into the lives of Rod and Randall, someone kills Charlotte. Feeling obligated to continue with the assignment, Benjamin expands his investigation to include discovering Charlotte's murderer.

THE LIMITS OF JUSTICE is a well-designed Hollywood mystery, but it is also a redemption novel. The story line belongs to Benjamin who in his fourth "Justice" tale uses Charlotte's murder as a rallying cause to regain his own lost humanity. Though one of the major underlying themes is out of an X-rated B horror movie, Edgar winner John Morgan Wilson paints a fresh landscape of Southern California. Anyone who enjoys a private investigation story starring an individual on a personal vendetta to regain his former champion status will find this wondrous novel does that and much more.

Harriet Klausner

I've been fortunate to have read the Benjamin Justice mysteries in sequence. When this popped into a search list I did on the author, I reserved a copy immediately.

The style itself is an equal match to the other three in the series. Wilson has maintained a steady, even narrative throughout the series.

What I found the most enjoyable was Benjamin's attempt to redeem himself and his condition. He was well on his way to rebuilding his life in 'Justice at Risk', but met with some setbacks. Having hit bottom, again, he must decide to go with the flow or to fight the current.

One minor annoyance: The way the mystery was wrapped up suddenly. It made the whole investigation seem a side-issue.

But even with that point made, I have to heartily suggest this book to anyone who has enjoyed the 'Justice' series. It is a must-read.

If it wasn't for Amazon's Quick Picks, I would never have discovered this author and this great mystery story. After checking the book out on my Amazon Quick Pick List I couldn't wait to read it. I am glad I did because I read this book in one day, it was that interesting and so hard to put down. I will be sure and read his previous three mysteries.

"The Limits Of Justice" tells the story of Charlotte, daughter of TV and movie star Rod Preston, who wants an unauthorized biography stopped about her father.. Private Investigator Benjamin Justice gets on the case, and then Charlotte is found dead. The story goes on to reveal a network of pedophiles and secrets that are too horrible to imagine. This is a very engaging read and keeps you glued to your seat till the very end. His description of the Southern California region and its history, as well as Mexico, is surely educational and enlightening if you are not too familiar with this area. A book worth exploring!

Many Georgians and many tourists enjoy the recreation and relaxation of Jekyll Island, one of the jewels of Georgia's "Golden Isles." One of the attractions for visitors to the Island is staying at, or visiting, the restored hotel, The Jekyll Island Club, and touring the "cottages" built by the millionaires who originally developed the island more than one hundred years ago. In The Jekyl Island Club, Brent Monahan takes us back to the time when J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and other tycoons and robber barons vacationed in splendor, and ran their little island as part of their fiefdoms. When one of the guests on the island is found dead from a gunshot, however, they have to acknowledge the local authority, at least enough to have the Brunswick sheriff make official their idea of what happened. Enter John Le Brun, high sheriff of Brunswick and a person with good reason to hold a grudge against the captains of industry who occupy what was formerly his home. Le Brun has his own problems, including a brand new chief deputy who recently returned home is disgrace from Philadelphia and is the son of the local judge. The judge is not a fan of the sheriff's, and is totally in the pocket of the Jekyl Island Club membership. In launching his investigation Le Brun must face the disdain, if not enmity, of club members and some of their staff; concerns about the loyalty of his own deputy; his own feelings; and his sense of justice. The pressure is on, in part because President McKinley is soon to visit the Island, traveling over from Thomasville where he is vacationing at the vacation home of his advisor, Ohio Senator Hanna, to meet with the some of the millionaires and House Speaker Reed, a guest of Morgan's. President McKinley's visit actually happened, and Monahan uses that historical fact and the residual glamor of the Jekyl Island Club, to fashion a neat little mystery. In an afterword Monahan also notes that before and after the millionaires' ownership, Jekyll was spelled with two "l's." While it was their private preserve, there was only one. While this book is not a great mystery, it is a solid one. The greatest charm, however, is in its bringing to life the era of conspicuous opulence and filling out the pictures today's visitors to Jekyll Island have in their imaginations.

Pretty cool book - the ties between the characters and persons they portray are incredible... i found myself questioning, could this be real or is it just fiction...

It starts out a little slow (some very long chapters) but soon you are hooked. The fascination of moguls of that time and their impact on our history. Well written. You wish there were other books about Sheriff John Le Brun and his crime solving abilities.

With simple prose and words that paint a picture of West Hollywood and the newspaper industry in bold strokes, Mr. Wilson draws the reader both into the mystery as well as the characters and their surroundings. His writing is tense and with Matthew Justice, he has created one of the more credible and interesting characters.

The plotting is fast, the cast of characters both amusing and realistic and story itself is without fault.

I'm not comfortable posting raves. I'm always suspicious of the ones I read, since many of them sound like a publisher's secretary paraphrasing their own ad copy. This is an exception.

Simple Justice deserved the awards and accolades it got. I am a mystery buff with a bad habit of sticking to 'tried and true' writers. I went looking for fresh authors recently. Out of about twenty 'new' talents, this is the one real gem I found.

Unlike the homophobe who posted in 1997, whether I personally like a character or his/her motivations is irrelevant to me. I want tight, convincing prose, an interesting mystery that doesn't cheat, and a collection of unique characters that remain true to themselves and grow during the book. Wilson gave me all of that and more.

The writing is truly award-caliber. Each character is deliciously flawed and extremely well-realized. The mystery is a great first effort, and aside from the 'Perry Mason' confession, I was intrigued throughout. Yes, any student of mysteries would pick the killer from the 'line up' in the first half of the novel, but it's still a good read. I recommend this book, with the single caveat that mystery novelists of the last ten years have become obsessed with the ... exploits of their characters, and Wilson is no exception. Since his characters are ..., expect ... (duh). Alternately, you can skip the ... scenes and jump straight (no pun intended) into a first-rate mystery novel.

Let me admit my bias first. I'm a Southern California-based mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, and I've met John Morgan Wilson several times. In fact, we shared the same table at the awards banquet at the last Bouchercon and then had drinks together afterward. After coming clean with my bias, I still freely admit that SIMPLE JUSTICE is one of the finest mysteries published in recent years. Mr. Wilson takes a flawed character, Benjamin Justice, a reporter who slipped up a bit on journalism's ethical standards and hence blew a Pulitzer Prize, and gives Justice a chance to begin to reclaim his life and his reputation. SIMPLE JUSTICE is a terrific mystery. It is a terrific novel. John Morgan Wilson has created a fabulous plot, and he vividly describes his settings and his characters. This novel deserved the awards it received. Read it soon, if you haven't already.

I've read this book twice now and keep thinking, "what a great idea, too bad the med guy didn't farm the idea out to someone who could write!" But he thought he did; wish he'd sent it to me. Ignoring all the trivial errors (misspellings of diseases, "North Ridge earthquake," calling the valley fever org. "cocci" when that term refers to all cocci forms of bacteria, "congenital arthritic hip" of Drew (think they meant congenital dysplasia causing the arthritis, not too many babies born with arthritis!), the faults in writing are amazing: rotten character development (for ex. Byrne is described in such detail at first encounter w/his pony tail, and when he has to cut it off, but do we ever hear about his pony tail again? So much for his Samson anguish), bringing up interesting points only to drop them (Kameron's taping of Byrne's comments at Mia's lecture, mention about doctoring them -- never shows up again), and leaden writing style.

Guess there's going to be another book soon, maybe the Fifth Horseman? Hope these two get a better editor.

Interesting subject matter but the many editorial/writing flaws in the book kept detracting from the story. I got worried when there was a date/time error in the first few pages of the book and the problem continued throughout. I don't mind flashbacks to earlier dates if the characters don't know on that earlier date what they had found out 2 weeks later according to the book's timeline.

There was other incorrect information in there such as the young Jewish boy saying he got hooked up to the Library of Congess to search Grateful Med. Grateful Med is provided by the National Library of Medicine. It made me wonder what other errors I wasn't aware of in some of the scientific/technical aspects of the plagues.

Despite my frustration with the authors/editors not catching some of the inconsistencies, I managed to finish the book because the subject matter interested me. However if you want to read books along this subject line, I'd have to recommend "The Hot Zone" or "The Cobra Event", "And the Band Played On" or several other books (some fiction & nonfiction like those mentioned above)before recommending this one. It was a struggle to stick with it even though the characters were fairly well developed and the concept was intriguing.

If you can avoid all the techno-[material] and long histories of some of the characters, you're in for a frightening look at how easy bioterrorism is. THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE revolves around a madman's plot to mirror the ten plagues of Moses and kill off vast amounts of people all in the name of God. Character-wise, there's no one here we haven't met before, and even the villain is rehashed from Dr. Phibes through Hannibal Lechter. However, the book has some terrifying scenes and some surprises, too. It's a little long in the tooth and is nowhere as realistically frightening as THE HOT ZONE, but it's still a scary read.
RECOMMENDED.

Details details.. I wish this book had more of them. I was a bit disappointed in getting this hardcover to see that I could read it in a couple of days. The pages go by fast as they cover Morgan's daring raids throughout Kentucky and the north. I was hoping to get more information than the quick coverage of the events that Morgan and his raiders went through. I would have liked to get some insight from his companions in the field and also from his enemy. This book seems to summarize Morgan and probably isn't the best when it comes to dates and details. It is important to suggest this book for anyone looking to read about a different Confederate cavalry commander instead of Mosby or Stuart that doesn't want to get into serious details. Perhaps this book exemplifies Morgan himself. It was short and fast. Morgan started his command quickly and finished quickly.

GREAT BOOK! HARD TO PUT DOWN! Covers the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" John Hunt Morgan from Tompkinsville, KY to Greeneville, TN. This little book has more in it than a 800 page novel. If you are interested in Morgan's Raids or Civil War activity in the Kentucky - Tennessee area, this is a MUST READ!

I found this collection beautiful and poignant, My favorite poem in the book, "For My Father" a must read! Can't wait to hear more from this poet! Hats Off!

Although some of the poems are a bit rough, overall this book provided many great examples of "up-and-coming work" that were both intelligent and inspiring.

Wanting to move up to a more sophisticated WEB language (from ASP,VB) I've bought quite a few books on .Net and C#. However, all of them left me with a lot of questions on how to just get started with the language.

This book solves all those problems. Anyone new to C# or just object oriented programming, can learn from this book.

The way that Karli eases you into the concepts and describes what each line of code does is extremely helpful.

This book is probably NOT for the Intermediate to Advanced programmer as Karli covers a lot of basic programming concepts. However, It also is a great primer for anyone wanting exposure to the language.

I would rate this book as being among the top 3 books out there on C# right now (the other two being C# and the .NET Platform by Andrew Troelsen and Programming C# from Jesse Liberty). The language is clear and each topic is succintly covered without sacrificing content. However this is not the book for advanced users given that the book does spend a good deal of time discussing programming fundamentals.

In order to get the most out of this book be sure to work on the case studies found at the end. These do a great job of tying everything together.

I wanted to learn C# (and learn more about .Net), and I'm coming from a mostly VB and ASP background. I was happy with Wrox's "C# Programming with the Public Beta" book (co-written by Watson), but wanted something that was more complete. At close to 1000 pages, this book certainly FEELS complete. It is also smartly outlined with excellent examples and exercises at the end of each chapter (but where are the answers??). Best of all once you step through the chapters on Windows and the web, there are TWO complete Case Studies (something I love about the Wrox books), and an article about building an Online Shopping Cart Using C#.
This book is similar in quality to Ivor Horton's "Beginning Java 2" books. (Only with better examples, in my opinion).

Strouse goes into amazing detail (at times a bit thick, but always fascinating) as she charts Morgan's entire life--out of which context emerge the outlines of a number of the most significant shifts in emerging global finance coming out of the American Civil War: 1) moving captial to the US from Europe to refinance Civil War debt and contribute to the building of the US industrial base 2)a broad shift from debt-based financing to equity-based financing, and 3)the (at the time) scandalous shift in valuing companies from book-value to multiples of earnings (the financial media of the day descried that Morgan, at one point, got international backing for a shipping combination valued at between 2 and 3 times annual revenues).

Insights the Strouse bio makes accessible inform the daily world around us in bounteous ways that make this book an incredibly worthwhile (as well as compelling) read. In this morning's WSJ, there was discussion of Iran now making good on previously nationalized assets so as to make Iran a more attractive place for international investors; the discussion of the bond market in light of the stock market's powerful gains continues; and individual investors as well as institutions are forever coming to terms with the fact that the market continues to support companies with what have traditionally been considered wildly high p/e ratios.

Add to the mix that Morgan was a fascinating man--as interested in the details of the dresses he had made for his wife, daughters, and mistresses as in the contents of his library, the speed of and fittings on his latest yacht, as well as the characters of the men who worked for him and with whom he chose to form investing syndicates, and you have a delightful, powerful biography.

This biography succeeds in giving the reader a sense of Mr. Morgan's social milieu, the profound contradictions in the way he lived his life, and the way in which the late 19th and early 20th Century evolved into what we now call modern life.

Ms. Strouse is sympathetic to her protagonist, but is also quick to point up his many flaws and quirks. I found the whole thing extremely readable.

Perhaps the most amusing part of the book is the way in which Ms. Strouse portrays the "intelligentsia" in Mr. Morgan's art world--Roger Fry, Berenson--less as interesting evolutionary figures in the history of art criticism and more as real flesh and blood folks in search of a position or a commission. "Catty", Fry and Berenson seem to be synonyms in the Strouse lexicon.

I'm not a great reader of biographies, but this one is pretty darn interesting. I wonder how the bios of this generation's multi-billionaires will read.

The presence of J.P. Morgan looms large over the financial and economic landscape of the Gilded Age. Either castigated for wielding economic clout or praised for providing stability to the industrial order, Morgan has remained a mystery. Although recent scholars V. Carosso and R. Chernow have studied the financial activities of the House of Morgan, there have been few biographies of Morgan. Making use of new archive sources and the extensive collection of Morgan materials in the Pierpont Morgan Library, Strouse fills this void with a masterful biography. She carefully depicts Morgan's taciturn personality, his financial tutelage under a critical father, and his relations with both wives and his children. Strouse provides a balanced evaluation of Morgan's financial activities, carefully articulating his role as the nation's unofficial central banker. He attracted European capital to American enterprises, organized new corporations to promote efficiency, consolidated bankrupt railroads, worked to stabilize financial markets when crises arose, and established new business structures. While Morgan was frequently demonized for his activities, Strouse argues that he often acted in the nation's best interests (and his own). His role as art collector is also examined. Students of the Gilded Age will find this biography essential reading. Highly recommended for all economic and business history collections.

The final sentences of John Morgan Wilson's Revision of Justice are Benjamin Justice's lament for the inevitable ending. "But life doesn't work like that, not even sometimes. I guess that's why they make movies." Unfortunately, those lines could apply to Wilson's novel, too, with a one-word substitution. Revision of Justice is no more realistic or lifelike than the typical Hollywood screenplay, so pat that at times it reads like one. For a series that began surprisingly strongly with Simple Justice, this is tragic.

Unfortunately, the difference between Simple and Revision is clear: in the first book, Wilson focused on character, introducing and developing Benjamin Justice as well as his world and his supporting cast. There, Wilson shone; he created a deeply flawed anti-hero who nonetheless could hold the loyalty of the reader and several stereotype characters (i.e., the grouchy editor with the heart of gold) that broke out of their mold. He also painted the world of West Hollywood vividly and clearly.

In Revision, however, Wilson leaves character development and shifts his focus to plot. That's where it all falls apart. Revision limps clumsily along a pre-ordained story arc, as though it had been created in a beginning writers' workshop. The meat of the mystery is clear from the first chapter, and the reader knows the solution in every detail by page 131 (first hardback edition). The rest of the book alternates between the agonizing wait for Justice to catch up - how many murders will it take? how many innocent people will he hurt in his quest for truth? - and an in-depth depiction of the entertainment industry, with a focus on screenwriting. In fact, large chunks of the this novel would be much more at home in a non-fiction book entitled "An Insider's Guide to Hollywood Screenwriting." Wilson clearly knows this world all too well. If only he had been able to draw the reader into it, as he did with WH in Simple, rather than dissecting it.

Even more painful is the careful alignment of resolutions, as Justice gets his chance to revise his past mistakes. He once abandoned a lover dying of AIDS. In Revision, he finds a guy who looks just like Jacques, the dead lover. Conveniently, this guy is also sick with AIDS, also dying, in a way that gives Justice a chance to replay his abandoment of Jacques, making the right choice this time around. Justice also once falsified a major story for the LA Times, dragging his editor down with him when he falls from grace. In Revision, Justice has the opportunity to pursue truth instead of lies and offer that same editor a major scoop. (It's the truth, this time.)

Second novels are always difficult, especially the second novel in a series. Wilson, despite all of his undeniable writing talent, has stumbled here. But so have a lot of good writers; many went on to better things. Let's hope that the third Justice mystery restores the series to its former glory.

I have to admit I haven't read the Benjamin Justice Mysteries in order. In fact, I read "Limits of Justice" first and have been backtracking. So I can honestly say this second mystery following "Simple Justice" is not my favorite. However, I really did enjoy the story because the author writes with a style that draws you in with a skill that makes you read right thru not wanting to stop till you get to the end. The story centers around a dead man, Raymond Farr, and how anyone at this Hollywood party might have wanted him dead. Justice begins to nose around and unearths a web of relationships, that finally lead him to the killer. I thought the story dealt very emotionally with Ben's feelings for AIDS stricken Danny Romero, a subject in the murder, and his effort to clear his name in the murder. The ending, yes, was a little obvious, and the murderer easy to figure out, but it's still an interesting read, and very enjoyable. I am glad I read this second mystery by John Wilson, and would recommend all four of his mysteries to anyone.

Wilson continues his Benjamin Justice series of detective novels with this dynamic second entry, set, of course, in Hollywood, among the world of rapacious, do-anything-for-a-break screenwriters, a world Wilson himself apparently knows well from experience.

A young, aspiring screenwriter with too many connections to too may important people with too many secrets is found murdered at a party in the posh home of a prominent screenwriting teacher. Justice, a once promising print reporter felled by scandal, is enlisted to help find the killer by his friend, a hotshot reporter named Alexandra Templeton. Justice agrees for financial reasons, but his heart is dragged into the search as well, as he is determined to clear his new friend Danny Romero of any suspicion of the crime. Danny is HIV positive, just like Ben's late lover Jacques, and Ben experiences a VERTIGO-like moment of déjà vu. (The love scene with Ben and Danny in the AIDS clinic, with Danny nearing death, is electrifying, touching, and erotic.)

If John M. Wilson/Benjamin Justice's Hollywood is any indication, there are practically no nice people in the American movie industry. There certainly aren't in this cast of characters. If someone's not busy clawing his way to the top (or even to the middle rung), then he is busy hiding some secret of a very shady past. The novel has the grime of raw ambition all over it, and chances are you won't find anybody here to whom you will relate. But that is all right. This is probably a more accurate representation of the Hollywood milieu than a lot of people would like to admit. Wilson does it very well. And his sense of character is sharp too. More and more I find myself thinking that Benjamin Justice may well be a more compelling character than Michael Nava's celebrated Henry Rios (and I wouldn't have thought that a few years ago). Justice is no Huggy Bear himself, but he's smart, sardonic, and funny, and he accepts his "loser" status with the stoicism of a wise man.

If one can cite faults here, it is the easiness with which one can guess the killer and Wilson's rather irritating habit of bashing white males and playing up the multicultural aspects of his own cast of characters; there's something in it that smacks of insincerity.

An excellent novel. Just don't go into it looking to be cheered up.