Book Description
“Palladian Days is nothing short of wonderful–part adventure, mystery, history, diary, and even cookbook. The Gables’ lively account captures the excitement of their acquisition and restoration of one of the greatest houses in Italy. Beguiled by Palladio and the town of Piombino Dese, they trace the history of the Villa Cornaro and their absorption of Italian life. Bravo!” –Susan R. Stein, Gilder Curator and Vice President of Museum Programs, Monticello
In 1552, in the countryside outside Venice, the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio built Villa Cornaro. In 1989, Sally and Carl Gable became its bemused new owners. Called by Town & Country one of the ten most influential buildings in the world, the villa is the centerpiece of the Gables’ enchanting journey into the life of a place that transformed their own. From the villa’s history and its architectural pleasures, to the lives of its former inhabitants, to the charms of the little town that surrounds it, this loving account brings generosity, humor, and a sense of discovery to the story of small-town Italy and its larger national history.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating & Very Spiritual Journey--A Wonderful Book.......2007-07-18
I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a private tour of this wonderful villa, with art and architecture students from the University of California at Berkeley, and enjoyed meeting Sally and Carl Gable in June 1997. I waited for years for this volume to appear. The wait was worth it all! I recall the splendor and excellent porportions of the Villa. And the welcoming presence of the Gables. You cannot completely understand their quality as people, and their commitment to preservation of this historically indispensable home, until you stand in their presence. Their knowledge of the history of the Villa, and the renovation and restoration techniques, is limitless. And above all, their understanding of European and Italian workers, and their families, and the town setting in which the Villa sits, is amazing. Here within this book, you have Sally as your affectionate guide. I had no clear idea, until I read the book the first time many months ago, that she would prove to be such a fascinating writer. Such clear and evocative writing! Those of you who are familiar with that zany and rich animal otherwise known as the "Italian Character" will understand immediately that she has penetrated into the core and spirit of the Italian social world that swirls around her home. She and Carl opened themselves up to the intimate worlds of all persons that intersected with the Villa, its most recent preservation, and its month-to-month upkeep. The details of that progressive seeping into that social world are fascinating. And the pacing of the unexpected calamities and expensive surprises which awaited them, spilling down on them without warning, will be familiar to any of you who know Italy, and Italians, well. Because what happened to the Gables happens to all residents of Italy. This life force emerging from the Italian Volcanic Soil could be summed up this way: "Why worry about the future? It's going to smack you in the head soon enough. So, lighten up in the meanwhile. Have some wine, and some vegetables and soup and pasta, and sit down and watch the sunset, and see what's happening with the neighbors." LIFE will coming crashing down upon you, soon enough. Ms. Gable captures the sequences of her learning about this in individual chapters that hang in the mind. With wit, great clarity of understanding of character, and tons of humor knitted into all of her stories.
I encourage all readers of this book to go to this Villa, which is unusual in its double-height Reception Hall, in the absence of original painted fresco "paintings." Ms. Gable has it correct that the Cornaro family brandished their immense wealth and influence in daring to incorporate intensely expensive real sculpture into the Reception Area, in carefully calculated placements in niches set into the plaster walls. They lavished more expense, in the first building of this Villa, in their country home's Reception Room than most nobles could have mustered in their entire City Villa! It was a "knock your socks off" room then. And it still astonishes visitors today.
Sally will also show you two qualities that static photographs just do not capture: (1) How perfectly proportioned each of the rooms is. And how they relate very calmly to adjacent rooms. In perfect balance. And (2) exactly where the original canal travel passage was, in relation to the "front" of the Villa--which today is the "back veranda porch" area. Visitors arriving from the canal would have been greeted with great ceremony, and then ushered directly into the double-height grand Reception Room. From which unfurled the various smaller suites of rooms. With a view outward to the rear garden and walks (which at this date comprises the "front yard" and garden, directly facing the street and modern entrance walks). When you tour the Villa in person, the relaxing and balanced human scale of it all just melts into your Soul. And all of the detail that Palladio put into the overal balance and scale of the design suddenly strikes a clear bell ring in the mind. And you remember that clarity thereafter as long as you shall live.
I warmly recommend this fascinating and entertaining book for all lovers of travel, cultural and architectural history, and for explorers of the warmth and chaotic charm of the Italian social world. Additionally, when you see all of the other surviving Palladian Villas in the Veneto Region and beyond, you will realize how special the home of Sally and Carl is in the overall scheme of things that survive as Palladio's corpus of work.
As a future companion to this volume, I would certainly welcome a future book from the talented pen of Sally Gable. Will she grace us with another book, perhaps describing her further adventures in the village world there? And further details of the expensive upkeep of a 470+ year homestead?
I have one final word of comment regarding other posters who are perhaps not famliar with the Italian character, and have felt cheated because Sally and Carl did not provide a neat expected-by-intrusive-Americans set of tables in the back of the book, tabulating every single US Dollar that they spent on everything they had to shore up, replace, strip down and replace, cajole back into place and/or have artisans conjure up from scratch.....In the Italian social world, the village's most wealthy occupants, who derive status from their character and strength, as well as their wealth and real estate or business holdings, would never ever think of posting a billboard in their yard listing what they paid for the place, and what they spent month-by-month for its upkeep. Such an open-book revealment would be considered, rightly so, tacky. Too forward. Racy. Poor form. And wicked....So, Sally, in her approach to exploring how to communicate details about this, chose the High Road. Yes, we all want to know that info. But Sally remains the Gentlewoman of the Villa. And dares not wag those details before public eyes.....Yet, I have thought of a return visit during which I entrance her with multiple sweet drinky-poos in her side parlor. And pry the details out of her.....I'm left with the fantasy of that lingering interrogation, amidst smiles, in that perfectly proportioned room. Meanwhile, I await her next book(s).
A lot to learn, a joy to read !.......2007-01-16
Informative, amusing, thoughtful, analytic, on occasion sentimental - strikes a perfect balance, a great pleasure to read - unforgettable . . .
Story in brief: Upon stumbling by chance over a classified advertisement Sally goes nuts over the idea of buying an Italian historic monument on sale, a real Palladian villa she can scarcely afford. The grand place is on sale and Sally gets really obsessed over it - she manages to drag her beloved, nonchalant, husband Carl into this too. A noble obsession indeed; Sally eventually overcomes all obstacles and succeeds in making her dream come true: she manages to buy the thing, and the rest is history. No, this is no fiction. Sally and Carl Gable are real persons. American, too - (sigh . . . .).
The book provides a lively and very personal account of the Gables' adventure of taking hold of the renowned Villa Cornaro, built by Andrea Palladio in 1552 for the wealthy Venetian patrician Giorgio Cornaro, the restoration jobs they had to undertake, their process of adapting to life within a rural Italian community, making friends, Veneto adventures and misadventures, history, local customs, culinary delights - and what have you. Along the way the reader gets a lot of information on the villa itself, its immediate surroundings and its history, as well as an overall historic and local background.
I ordered Sally's book almost as an afterthought, bundled to my order of Palladio's "The Four Books on Architecture" (translated by Robert Tavernor) and Tavernor's own "Palladio and Palladianism" (two absolute "musts" on the subject of Palladian architecture, along with Vitruvius' "The Ten Books on Architecture"). That proved to be a lucky day. Sally & Carl Gable's book details original Palladian architecture as seen from the perspective of the actual inhabitants of the architect's creation, and its surrounding community and history - a rare human-centric first-hand account, perfectly complementing scholarly publications on the subject. Informative, interesting and lively, never a boring moment, a lot to learn, a joy to read.
When you are sad that a book is over, you know it has been a great book . . . .
Highly recommended (if that has not been apparent from the above).
Upscale in the Veneto.......2006-08-17
Any fine old house one chooses to restore immediately turns into a money pit--all the more so a historic Palladian villa in the Veneto. Thank goodness there are people able to do it--and to write about it in as engaging a manner as Sally Gable. With the restoration project comes a whole new life for the Gables, complete with new friends, hosts of visitors, and Venetian country recipes. This is a delightful book for anyone acquainted with this unique part of Italy or planning to become acquainted with it.
" With Time and Money ( almost ) All is Possible"..........2006-04-08
Always a sucker for books about Americans who adapt to other cultures, this book was a disappointment.
Although the educational aspects of Palladian design was interesting, the author's voice struck me as cold, condescending and lacking wit or warmth. The book was dry. I would have appreciated better, larger, clearer photography.
The villa is a breathtaking property with such a rich history. The author does respect, honor and appreciate her home- that much is evident.
This 14,000 square foot Venetian "country house" certainly goes beyond my wildest imaginings of a "second home". I would have loved to have read more of the Gables' hands-on renovations, rather than hired hands. I would have relished reading about Ms Gables' thoughts and as she soaked in the view from each window at dusk- closing those many, many shutters. Instead, she hired someone to do that for her.
If "Palladian Days" spurs your interest into further reading and research- well, then it is worth it's price. My memories won't be of the Gables or their story- but will lie with the thoughts of Palladio's gifts to the world.
Great book! Wonderful house!.......2006-01-17
It takes a lot of determination to do what the Gables (and the Rushes before them) did. They bought not just any villa in Italy, but one of the supreme villas by one of the most noted Renaissance architects. Owning this house becomes a career and the Gables shoulder it with love. The book has many b & w photos, but for a better look, Google "Palladio" (boglewood should appear in the top links) for color photos which are more striking. This site, by the Gable's son, has even more info on Palladio and his villas.
Each morning it takes 30 minutes to open the 44 heavy shutters and another 30 to bolt them at night. The Gables hire someone who can make the rounds in 20 minutes. Other needs of the house: a working kitchen, leaks in the roof and moisture in the floor, rewiring (I think it took 3 weeks), scorpion irradication (which is minimized in text but took 3 years), a conversion from septic to city sewage similary take time and outside help.
While two authors are credited, it is clearly Sally's voice. The book is divided into short essays, each devoted to a topic. Many of them stand on their own, and could be published elsewhere for other purposes. For instance, the visit to the archives, clearly makes readers appreciate the research that goes into historical writing. Other vignettes describe friends, Venetian glass, the Cornaros, the frescoes, other Palladio villas at a visit from Bob Vila etc.
We learn that actual costs are higher or lower than estimates or expectations but there are no stated amounts. Whatever the costs, it's clear, to embark on such a project you need devotion, flexibility and deep pockets.
This is a delightful book. If you are not interested in Palladian architecture when you start it, you will be when you're done.
Amazon.com
Constantine's Sword is a sprawling work of history, theology, and personal confession by James Carroll (the author of An American Requiem, among many others). Carroll begins his landmark project by describing contemporary Catholic remembrances of the Holocaust and the Church's intolerable legacy of hostility towards Jews. He then surveys Catholic anti-Judaism beginning with the New Testament and proceeding through the early Church, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Enlightenment, and World War II, before concluding with "A Call for Vatican III," a Church council that would make meaningful repentance for an entrenched tradition of hatred. Carroll's prescriptions for repentance, continued in a powerful epilogue, are bracingly concrete: "there is no apology for Holy Week preaching that prompted pogroms until Holy Week liturgies, sermons, and readings have been purged of the anti-Jewish slanders that sent the mobs rushing out of church.... Forgiveness for the sin of anti-Semitism presumes a promise to dismantle all that makes it possible." Carroll's personal reflections as an American Catholic infuse his historical narrative, and although his reflections are sometimes unnecessarily detailed, they are admirable for the principle they express: "I find myself unable to accuse my Church of any sin that I cannot equally accuse myself of," he writes. Carroll's judgments on the Church are rightly harsh, even agonizing. And yet his vision for a future rapprochement between Christians and Jews is hopeful, in part because he personally has come to understand the deep connections between Israel and the Church: "Jesus offers me, a non-Jew, access to the biblical hope that was his birthright as a son of Israel." --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
In this "rare book that combines searing passion . . . with a subject that has affected all of our lives" (Chicago Tribune), the novelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps the two-thousand-year course of the Church's battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has sparked in his own life as a Catholic. "Fascinating, brave and sometimes infuriating" (Time), this dark history is more than a chronicle of religion. It is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture. Drawing on his well-known talents as a storyteller and memoirist, Carroll has created "a deeply felt work, a book that measures the "sweep of history" against [his] experience as a man of the church" (San Francisco Chronicle). A courageous and affecting reckoning with difficult truths that will touch every reader, "CONSTANTINE'S SWORD is a history written to change the way people live" (Talk).
Customer Reviews:
Fun to read, will stir up emotion, but inherently flawed.......2007-09-25
Undoubtedly those who read through Carroll's well-organized work will find themselves a little wary of Christianity, and especially the Catholic Church. Carroll pulls no punches claiming that the New Testament, Church Doctrine and nearly everthing associated with Christianity as having become necessarily anti-semitic, even claiming that the "final solution" was an idea influenced by Christian theology.
However, he misses one huge point. There is a difference between anti-Judaism (persecution of Jews for religious reasons, i.e. not accepting Jesus) and anti-Semitism (persecution of Jews based on race, which is what Hitler and Nazi party did). Carroll just dismisses this difference early in the book as being superfluous. I think he misses the mark here, for the motivations that cause the conflict with the Jews is very different.
In addition, Carroll has the audacity to claim that common Christian notions of Jesus and Pauline theology are incorrect. Oh, but he seems to have all the answers. His attempts to rebuff 2000 years of intellectual history regarding these two (emphasizing the Jewishness of Paul after his conversion on the road to Damascus?!?) ultimately fails. Moreover, he then goes on to say how Christians and especially Catholics have misinterpreted Old Testament texts and other sacred Jewish writings. But once again, he sweeps in from the heavens to save us from our uneducatedness. Too often Carroll asserts controversial beliefs and theories of his as objective truth, citing a footnote or two of an unconventional theologian or historian that would agree with him. I am sure that Christians and Jews alike don't appreciate for his cockiness in asserting biblical and theological truths of both religions.
Those whose goal it is to attack the Church will love this book and take what Carroll says as fact without questioning it. Others will find what he has to say regarding the Church-Jew relationship as beneficialm and significant, and he does a good job demonstrating the need for repair and dialouge in that relationship. But his historical and theological writings is full of unevident controversial claims and sophistic rhetoric about his personal life. As a whole, this book should not be taken as scholarly research, but more of a soul-searching book.
A must read.......2007-07-09
This book arrived in excellent condition, at a great price, and is a must read for all those who are interested in inter-faith issues.
An eye opener.......2007-05-13
What an eye-opener. This former Catholic priest tells all about the awful history of the Church and the Jews. The Passion, at its very heart, is de-bunked as a fiction. We understand how the New Testament was written hundreds of years after the event, only after the Romans and their threat to crucify ANYONE who spoke against them, were gone. this is a responsible, authoritative history based on massive research. Not an easy read; you will not get through many pages at each sitting without being moved to a passion of your own. Essential
If only more Christians read this book........2007-05-10
Many months ago I purchased this book on a boring Sunday afternoon. Little did I know it would be a book that changed my life.James Carroll took me through a brave journey of his inner struggle to answer those baffling questions that all Christians have, but only few ever have the resolve to find an answer for.
As someone who knows many Jews having lived in South Florida, I have often wondered why they wouldn't take the step and accept Jesus as their Messiah and Saviour. Well, James Carroll took me through 2000 years of history to understand the interaction between these two great faiths of the Bible. Considering the Crusades, Inquisition, Pogroms, Exiles, Roman Ghetto's, forced conversions, and "blood libels," it's no wonder they aren't particularly keen on doing so. Furthermore, Mr. Carroll recognizes the almost ridiculous claims the New Testament writers make in their "history prophecized."
We all know the many axioms that I can quote regarding those who fail to understand history, and that's exactly what this book seeks to correct. It seems the vast majority of Christians I have known in my lifetime, never take the time to understand history other than what the Bible and C.S. Lewis care to disclose to them. The stories told by those "others" is that Christianity is not the fairy tale story it's made out to be by those you see on the Sunday pulpit.
Yet, when all is said and done, Mr. Carroll remains a believer, a believer who sees the Church for what it is. An archaic institution, much in need of reform, much in need to humble itself as it's followers are so explicitly instructed to do.
This book would not be what it is without the authors heartfelt story, his journey through these historical sights, both in the past with his mother, and present day with children.
I am proud to say I recently spoke to the man who is producing Constantine's Sword, the Movie. This will be a documentary style film about the book. One of the things he mentioned about the book, was that of it's many loyal readers and fans, many of them did not actually finish the book! It's my belief that many of those who criticize this book fall into this catagory. For if you would have finished it, you would see that Jim Carroll's story is a beautiful one. A story of struggle, confusion, despair, but ultimately of faith. There is no flaming for the shortcomings of the Church today and in years past, just simply a cry for reform, for it's what Christ really would have wanted. Not the fundamentalist mania we see in the world today.
An honest book.......2007-03-27
Constantine's Sword is for me one of the more important books I have read on the subject of the Catholic Church and its relationship to the Jews. Not only is this book a scholarly work that is extremely well written and informative, but it is also honest and strait foreword. It does not embellish and it does not try to find excuses. On the contrary, it rather tries to find a solution that will change the church doctrine so as to correct injustices for a better future. As a religious Catholic, he feels the burden of his church's ill doing, and this book is, from what I understand- his confession.
It's a book everyone must read.
Renate
Artist. Poet & the author of
From the Promised Land to the Lucky Country
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Columbia Journalism Review, published by Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism on May 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2453 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Confessions of a Book Review Editor.
Author: Paul Baumann
Publication:
Columbia Journalism Review (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2001
Publisher: Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
Volume: 40
Issue: 1
Page: 83
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Midstream, published by Theodor Herzl Foundation on February 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2920 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History.(Review) (book review)
Author: George Jochnowitz
Publication:
Midstream (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2001
Publisher: Theodor Herzl Foundation
Volume: 47
Issue: 2
Page: 40
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
What is the best way to photograph a speeding bullet? Why does light move through glass in the least amount of time possible? How can lost hikers find their way out of a forest? What will rainbows look like in the future? Why do soap bubbles have a shape that gives them the least area?
By combining the mathematical history of extrema with contemporary examples, Paul J. Nahin answers these intriguing questions and more in this engaging and witty volume. He shows how life often works at the extremes--with values becoming as small (or as large) as possible--and how mathematicians over the centuries have struggled to calculate these problems of minima and maxima. From medieval writings to the development of modern calculus to the current field of optimization, Nahin tells the story of Dido's problem, Fermat and Descartes, Torricelli, Bishop Berkeley, Goldschmidt, and more. Along the way, he explores how to build the shortest bridge possible between two towns, how to shop for garbage bags, how to vary speed during a race, and how to make the perfect basketball shot.
Written in a conversational tone and requiring only an early undergraduate level of mathematical knowledge, When Least Is Best is full of fascinating examples and ready-to-try-at-home experiments. This is the first book on optimization written for a wide audience, and math enthusiasts of all backgrounds will delight in its lively topics.
Customer Reviews:
A fabulous book!.......2007-04-11
I've recently finished the above book and can't tell the reader just how much I enjoyed it, particularly the connections made that often get lost in the usual silo approach to math topics. Plus, Professor Nahin explains the math extremely well and makes it fascinating. I wish there were more similar books at this level.
I appreciate the time it must take to put together a book like that but, if Professor Nahin was ever thinking about the next topic(!), how about Linear Algebra and the connections with geometry and calculus -- something along the lines of books by W.W. Sawyer, but more advanced? I know he would do a superb, and valuable, job.
Delightful read, just avoid the the diagrams.......2006-11-15
Science writing needs to avoid two obvious traps: the pedantic discourse for the supposed layman, or the oversimplified analogy bordering on the erroneous. Paul Nahin deserves full credit for circumventing these effectively in his book about optimization. He is clear about the background he assumes on his readers part, though he doesn't always provide adequate references for those who don't. He does, however, offer pertinent citations for those readers who wish to wade deeper. I only wish he was more careful with his equations, and even more so with his diagrams, which often confuse rather than clarify... but the good things first.
The choice of topics, their sequence and the examples signify not only their historical importance, but places several in a modern context, with an emphasis on numerical solutions. I especially liked the approach he takes in section 1.7 with the numerical-graphical technique. The muddy wheel in section 3.6 demonstrates how an interesting (and real!) problem can yield to analytical techniques. However, numerical methods can be stretched at times, which is evident in the justification of eliminating one of the two values for a minimal surface on page 268. One would have appreciated a physical explanation based on analytical techniques. From a historical perspective, the use, discovery, exploration, development and the final definition of the derivative, (in that sequence!) and how Fermat played a seminal role in it clears several misconceptions even before the Newton-Leibniz imbroglio.
There are two particular examples that I would like to underline, both for their simplicity and their beauty of exposition. The first is the projectile problems in sections 5.4 and 5.5. They demonstrate a wonderful but simple extension to a topic typically explored in the classroom or in textbooks, but which has its roots in a very real problem- the strategy of the discus throw or basketball shot. The analysis of rainbows in section 5.8 is astounding. It is detailed to the extent necessary, and answers some very basic questions about a beautiful phenomenon. [...]
Where Nahin stumbles at times is maintaining that delicate balance between challenging his readers and fleshing out every mathematical step in its symbolic detail. While I am sure it has helped increase his readership from Hawking's half-lost-for-every-equation conjecture, it is often a waste of space, or worse still, displays a lack of economy and elegance. See, for example, the algebra on page 249. There is also a failure to mention the physical interpretation of beta as the angle for the parametric equation for the cycloid (page 217) which would make things simpler while proving the tautochronous property (page 222-227).
While I have commended the excellent treatment of rainbows in the context of derivatives, I must add that I find it appalling how inaccurate some diagrams in the book are, and in one case, even incorrect. The case in point being the figure 5.10 on page 184, "Illuminating a raindrop." While it is mentioned that it is rotated relative to figure 5.9, the arrows on 5.10 completely misrepresent its purpose. There should be no arrows along the line that makes an angle to the center. This is just a reference normal line. There should be arrows on the horizontal line above the one that passes through the center, and this should be extended to a line with arrows and subtending the correct refracted angle with the normal line.
How important is scale? Is it important to represent geometrical figures to scale when possible? Is it detrimental to the perception or solution of the problem if little attention is given to scale? If you have answered any of the questions in the affirmative, look at figure 3.5 on page 81 and figure 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4 on pages 281-283, but especially figure 7.2. I shall not waste my words here, but it really saddens me to see that geometrical figures that lends itself to a very satisfying visual treatment has so little attention paid to accuracy and scale. With that, I rest my case.
More would be better !.......2006-08-03
Mr. Nahin states in his preface that 1st year undergraduate math and physics is enough to manage "a lot of mathematics in this book." He is fairly on the mark, discounting my comments about chapter six below. As usual, the reader must keep pencils and scrap paper ready to fully appreciate this book. I hoped to find a book based on applications of math and physics, an engineer's approach. This is one such fascinating book.
I was familiar with the AM-GM inequality technique to find extremas. However, Mr. Nahin dispenses of this method early and shows the reader so much more. And in this book, there is a constant exercise of looking at problems a different way.
If you like geometric solutions along with the typical lines of algebraic manipulations, you'll love this book. The first five chapters are packed with problems and solutions with excellent graphic representations. Integration requirements increase throughout.
In finding extremas in chapter six, the author goes beyond ordinary calculus with the calculus of variations including the Euler-Lagrange differential equation and Beltrami's identity. The focus problem is the minimal decent time curve. It is in section 6.4 that the author truly breaks from his stated reader requirements of "high school algebra, trigonometry, and geometry, as well as the elementary integration techniques." I think most authors of this book's scope typically underestimate reader requirements. As for my part, I did not understand the calculus of variations technique on the first reading. After reading sections 6.4 through 6.8 again, I gained an appreciation of how the method works. After one more reading of these sections, I might know just enough to be dangerous. These challenging sections are well written, but a struggle within the stated reader requirements.
Chapter 7 found me in more comfortable ground where great geometric solutions to problems are shown and there is a keen introduction to linear programming.
In various cases, Mr. Nahin works through problems with results generated by computer programs. These are not my favorite problems because I lack access to the high end (very expensive) programs that he uses.
This book is well written and engaging; and it is easier to manage than An Imaginary Tale. This is my second book by Mr. Nahin, and I view him as a favorite author of technical books. In this review, I intentionally avoided mentioning specific problems covered because I do not want to spoil the surprises. I found them all quite fascinating. The reader will see so many real world physics in a different light. I highly recommend this book.
excellent - I want all his books.......2004-04-24
Finally, a solid book that challenges the lay reader just like the best math teachers do - by showing the elegance and power of mathematical reasoning.
This is top shelf material. Nahin is one heck of writer and must be one hell of a teacher! Bravo!
Already ordered his book on the history of imaginary numbers.
6 stars: ******
Off the Charts.......2004-03-10
Nahin's book is a tour de force about the deep intellectual threads that surround the notion of optimality. In physics, engineering, and mathematics, while touching on a wide range of applications, he asks over and over again: What is the optimal solution and why does it matter? Since I've spent most of my professional career thinking about optimality in one form or another, I was skeptical about how much new I would find in this book. But I was astounded to find something new and interesting on virtually every page. Some examples:
--Preface: Torricelli's funnel, which has finite volume and can be filled, but has infinite surface area and cannot be painted; and a slick proof that an irrational number raised to an irrational power can be rational.
--Chapter 1: An optimization problem that is not amenable to calculus, but whose solution can be discerned by some clever insight; an optimization problem that is amenable to calculus, but whose solution can be arrived at by algebra; and the use of the arithmetic mean-geometric mean inequality in optimization.
--Chapter 2: The ancient isoperimetric problem of Dido on maximal area, how it remained unsolved until modern times; the fact that there exists a figure in the plane whose area is equal to the area of the period at the end of this sentence and which contains a line segment one million light years in length that can be rotated 360 degrees within the figure (the shape of the figure is a little hard to picture); and the fact that there are two consecutive prime numbers the gap between which is greater than a googolplex (don't ask what they are).
--Chapter 3: Optimization problems involving the viewing of a painting, the rings of Saturn, folding envelopes, carrying a pipe around a corner in a hallway, the maximum height of mud ejected from a wheel, and other daily concerns.
--Chapter 4: Snell's law, the path of light, and the feud between Descartes and Fermat.
--Chapter 5: The power of the calculus, the aiming of basketballs and cannon, Kepler's wine barrel, United Parcel Service package size constraints, L'Hospital's pulley problem, and the geometry of rainbows.
Chapter 6: Galileo's work on the descent of a particle sliding along the arc of a circle; the discovery of the minimum-time brachistochrone curve by Jacob Bernoulli arrived at by an argument based on the path of light in a variable-density medium, his feud with Newton, and Newton's anonymously published solution to the problem; the isochronous property of both the circle and brachistochrone, which states that the descent time is independent of the starting location along the cure (a point mentioned in chapter 96 of Moby Dick and which left me wondering which paths are isochronous since a straight line is clearly not); the fact that the brachistochrone is about 1.5% faster than the circular arc and that a brachistochrone tunnel dug from New York to Los Angeles would entail a travel time of a mere 28 minutes assuming frictionless sliding and no propulsion; the fact that 45 degrees maximizes range of a golf ball but 56.466 degrees maximizes arc length; the Euler-Lagrange equation of the calculus of variations and its proof formulated by Lagrange at age 19; the hyperbolic cosine shape of the catenary loaded by its own weight as compared to the parabolic shape of a string under uniform loading; the rigorous solution of the isoperimetric problem by Weierstrass; and the theory of soap bubble shapes by Plateau who was blinded by an optics experiments he performed during his Ph.D. research; and a brief illustration of optimal control theory
Chapter 7: Hofmann's solution of Steiner's problem on minimum distance inside a triangle and its use by Delta Airlines to save money on its phone bill; the traveling salesman problem, linear programming, a tutorial on dynamic programming along with a brief bio of IEEE Medal of Honor awardee Richard Bellman with emphasis on the fact the IEEE is an engineering society.
For a control audience, the connections between control and optimization are addressed by the lengthy discussion on the calculus of variations and the tutorial on dynamic programming. My only (minor) disappointment was the lack of more discussion about the nature of optimality in mechanics, that is, the least action principle, the specialization of Hamilton's principle to conservative systems. This underlying principle of mechanics is not, in fact, a statement of optimality but rather one of stationarity.
This book is clearly the result of immense effort. The author's notes suggest that most of the book was written in a single year, which is amazing. Not only are many topics covered, but mathematical details abound. The author, who is known for popular treatments of technical subjects (An Imaginary Tale: The Story of i, Dueling Idiots and Other Probability Puzzlers, The Science of Radio, Oliver Heaviside: Sage in Solitude, Time Travel), just seems to get better and better.
The book was produced with painstaking care. While there are surely errors somewhere, I spotted exactly zero. I would guess that the book has roughly half as many figures as pages, all drawn with great accuracy. To say the price of the book is reasonable would be an understatement.
Who might find this book of interest? The book is really a popular book of mathematics that touches on a broad range of mathematical problems associated with optimization. Some mathematical sophistication, and certainly calculus, is needed to follow the details. But much in this book could be digested by students in high school, even before calculus. The flavor and richness of the subject matter cannot help but whet the curiosity of neophytes. Undergraduate and graduate engineering students of all disciplines will find something that relates to their coursework.
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Coastal Waters of the World: Trends, Threats, and Strategies
Don Hinrichsen
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Book Description
Nearly 60% of the world's population lives and works within 100 miles of a coast, and even those who don't are connected to the world's oceans through an intricate drainage of rivers and streams. Ultimately the whole of humankind is coastal.
Coastal Waters of the World is a comprehensive reference source on the state of the world's coastal areas. It focuses on the tremendous pressures facing coastal areas and the management systems and strategies needed to cope with them. Don Hinrichsen explores the origins and implications of three related issues: the overwhelming threats to our coastal resources and seas from population and pollution; the destruction of critical resources through unsustainable economic activity; and the inability of governments to craft and implement rational coastal management plans.
Introductory chapters present a concise summary of our coastal problems, including coastal habitat degradation and the fisheries crisis, along with a discussion of better management options. Three case studies of successful coastal governance focus on some of the problems and bring to life potential solutions. Following that are regional profiles that provide detailed information on the main population, resource, and management challenges facing each of the world's thirteen major coastal waters and seas. The profiles are presented in a standard format to allow for ease of comparison between regions, and accessibility of information. The book ends with a realistic and practical agenda for action that can be implemented immediately.
Safeguarding these complex, interlinked ecosystems is humanity's most challenging management job. Coastal Waters of the World will help raise our awareness of coastal area concerns and provide a constructive contribution to the ongoing debate over how to manage these ever-changing areas, both for ourselves and for future generations. It will serve as a valuable reference tool and an up-to-date resource for policymakers, management specialists, and students interested in sustainable coastal governance.
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- Radha: Diary of a Woman's Search
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- Sam: The One And Only Sam Snead
- Sexual Assault: Will I Ever Feel Okay Again?
- Shangri-LA: The Return to the World of Lost Horizon
- Shelley II: The Middle of My Century
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