Book Description
Widely acclaimed algebra text. This book is designed to give the reader insight into the power and beauty that accrues from a rich interplay between different areas of mathematics. The book carefully develops the theory of different algebraic structures, beginning from basic definitions to some in-depth results, using numerous examples and exercises to aid the reader's understanding. In this way, readers gain an appreciation for how mathematical structures and their interplay lead to powerful results and insights in a number of different settings.
* The emphasis throughout has been to motivate the introduction and development of important algebraic concepts using as many examples as possible.
Customer Reviews:
Great graduate algebra text.......2007-09-28
Compare this book to certain other ones (like Lang's Algebra, Hungerford's Algebra, etc.) and you'll agree, this one is way better. Most other books are too terse to study from, especially if you're studying on you own. But this one seems to cover the material pretty well, without falling into that trap.
The Bible of Algebra.......2007-08-06
This book is the best to understand hard concepts of abstract algebra. The exposition is excellent and it is easy to find anything you need.
useful text for an undergrad course.......2006-06-14
Hilariously, I found this book in a local library, in the section devoted to primary school and high school maths. I guess the "Algebra" in the title suggested this location to some librarian. Anyhow, not to worry. I informed the library and they will reshelve this book in a better place.
And what of the book itself? It makes an excellent text for an undergrad maths course. In no small part because the authors have stuffed a huge number of exercises into each chapter. An intense workout for the dedicated reader, and a wide variety of choices to the instructor.
Ring and module theories are developed at a fairly rigourous pace. While finite dimensional vector spaces are also covered, as a natural accompaniment. Some readers might be already familiar with its treatment of matrix manipulations and multilinearity. Indeed, the use of matrices may be more natural to you, when modules are discussed.
Excellent for an introductory abstract algebra book; clear and comprehensive.......2006-06-09
This is a great book! It's introductory, appropriate for undergrads taking abstract algebra for the first time, but it is very comprehensive, useful for more advanced students as well. Although it explains the material in great depth and at a slow pace, it does so in a logically sound manner. The authors provide rich motivation and always introduce material with an eye towards more advanced material to come later. It is rich in cross-references, helping people to develop connections between the different parts of the material, and allowing the reader to jump around once she has mastered the basics. One of the best aspects of this book is that it contains a wealth of concrete examples in every section; this is critical for helping beginners master such an abstract subject.
I find this book to be ideal for self-study and outstanding as a reference: it is very comprehensive and its presentations are clear. The book is still valuable to advanced students, both as review and for the advanced material; the earlier chapter's exercises may seem easy, but they are a fun challenge if you try to do them in your head. Few graduate students will have already covered all the material in this book...it gets into some galois theory, representation theory, modules, homological algebra, even some algebraic geometry. It covers almost all the topics in algebra that a general mathematician would need (as well as many that she might not need); the only glaring omission is that lattices and boolean algebras are not mentioned, but this material is easy to find elsewhere. This book has a clearer presentation of some of the more advanced material than I have been able to find elsewhere--in particular, it has a gentle (and yet rich) introduction to modules. Even if you enjoy denser texts, you will find this book offers something they do not--it's great to fall back on if you absolutely need to understand something quickly and clearly, and the examples are immensely valuable.
I would recommend this book for use as a textbook at all levels from undergraduate through graduate work, although for graduate students it may be better suited for use as a reference or for self-study. This book would also be very useful as a supplement to an instructor teaching abstract alegbra courses at various levels.
This book is well-complemented by the books by Lang and Isaacs. Isaac's book offers a more streamlined, theorem-proof approach that is denser and devoid of examples, and his exercises are harder; this presentation will help the reader attain a greater degree of mathematical maturity. Lang's book is more sparse when it comes to proofs; reading it would be a good exercise to undertake after working through the background material in this book. Lang's book is also rich in examples, but it places more emphasis on applications to other branches of mathematics (i.e. outside of pure algebra), whereas this text focuses more on the connections within Algebra itself.
too wordy.......2006-03-30
This book is a standard one for graduate-level algebra courses. I practically wore mine out over a year-long course, and came to know it intimately. Dummit and Foote is a book that teaches via wordy explanations and lots of examples. Of course, examples are very important. However, the explanations are often muddled and not clear (e.g. see tensor products). They frequently relegate important theorems or definitions to the exercises, and the organization is poor. Consequently, it can be very hard to find things later when you might need them. Also, the bindings on this book frequently fail. My book fell apart very quickly, and I know other students who had the same problem. I recommend Rotman's Advanced Modern Algebra instead of Dummit and Foote.
Book Description
"What is abstract art good for? What's the use--for us as individuals, or for any society--of pictures of nothing, of paintings and sculptures or prints or drawings that do not seem to show anything except themselves?" In this invigorating account of abstract art since Jackson Pollock, eminent art historian Kirk Varnedoe, the former chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, asks these and other questions as he frankly confronts the uncertainties we may have about the nonrepresentational art produced in the last five decades. He makes a compelling argument for its history and value, much as E. H. Gombrich tackled representation fifty years ago in Art and Illusion, another landmark A. W. Mellon Lectures volume. Realizing that these lectures might be his final work, Varnedoe conceived of them as a statement of his faith in modern art and as the culminating example of his lucidly pragmatic and philosophical approach to art history. He delivered the lectures, edited and reproduced here with their illustrations, to overflowing crowds at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in the spring of 2003, just months before his death.
With brilliance, passion, and humor, Varnedoe addresses the skeptical attitudes and misunderstandings that we often bring to our experience of abstract art. Resisting grand generalizations, he makes a deliberate and scholarly case for abstraction--showing us that more than just pure looking is necessary to understand the self-made symbolic language of abstract art. Proceeding decade by decade, he brings alive the history and biography that inform the art while also challenging the received wisdom about distinctions between abstraction and representation, modernism and postmodernism, and minimalism and pop. The result is a fascinating and ultimately moving tour through a half century of abstract art, concluding with an unforgettable description of one of Varnedoe's favorite works.
Customer Reviews:
Pictures of Nothing.......2007-10-13
This is a very good collection of lectures given about abstract art. It gives some valuable clues as to the genealogy of modern art.
overrated and wordy.......2007-09-19
a disappointing book - pretentious and unenlightening - get hilton kramer's "the trium of modernism" instead!
They really need a Zero Star category for books like this one.......2007-07-24
I watched the excellent series on art on DVD called "Power of Art" by Simon Schama. The last episode of the series is on Mark Rothko, an abstract painter. It made me want to learn more about abstract art, so I bought this book. Annnt! Thanks for playing. This book is a dog. It didnt help me understand abstract art one bit . In fact, it goes on and on about pieces of "art," but does not explain them beyond being smears or smudges or works of technique. The basis of abstract art is not explained at all.
BTW, it appears from this book that these guys were often making paintings just as rude jabs at one another's work.
I found the book a total waste.
Review by P Hutchings, Melbourne, Australia.......2007-06-13
Kirk Varnedoe's Pictures of Nothing is a masterpiece of empirical art chronology/criticism. It is gritty and on the ground. This is a relief after Danto's warmed-over Hegel and Clement Greenberg's star-spangled marx with a small M. If one might venture any hypothesis about the artists about whom Varnedoe wrote it would have to face, square on, any counter-instances. No Zeitgeist, just Popperian falsifiablility. Good. It is of course a pity for those of us who were not in New York at the right time. But, that's life.
Patrick Hutchings
Department of Philopsophy
University of Melbourne
Australia
Abstraction clarified.......2007-02-07
A brilliant and thorough explication of contemporary abstract art. The lectures were not intended for
arts professionals but are a literate and enjoyable guide to the visual arts since Jackson Pollock.
Book Description
Abstract Algebra, Fifth Edition, includes challenging topics as well as numerous figures, tables, photographs, charts, biographies and computer exercises, making the text more compelling, current, and relevant for students.
- All cross-referenced exercises (odd exercises) feature solutions in the answer section of the text.
- True/false exercises have been posted on the web site to correspond with the Supplementary Exercises in text.
- A text-specific web site contains updated software for the computer exercises found in the book, as well as additional exercises for practicing and reinforcing concepts.
Customer Reviews:
Great textbook.......2007-09-27
I am a math major in my junior year, and this is the first textbook I have actually enjoyed reading. It is full of useful examples and it is clearly written and structured so that it is very easy to follow.
I'd recommend this book to any student who is looking for a great resource to help them learn/understand abstract algebra.
It's a textbook. You're forced to buy it, but at least it does its job well........2007-05-12
Normally, mathematics textbooks are used as sleeping aids (Munkres' Topology, anyone?), but this one teaches you the concepts you need and doesn't do a terribly dry job of it. I'm assuming you're reading the review to learn the subject in independent study, because otherwise, who'd read a textbook review?
First of all, this book is thankfully small. Actually, quite a bit smaller than most mathematics textbooks I have been carrying around these years. But you didn't buy it for the size, so on to the contents and layout.
There are chapters and there are sections, like elements (latter) in sets (former); each section outlining some key concepts or theorems. The problems for each section do correlate closely to the course concepts. The author begins with a review of the foundations of mathematics and some property of sets and then begins with an introduction to groups before moving to a more detailed look.
With the curriculum in algebraic structures/abstract algebra fairly standardized, this book teaches you most, if not all, of what you would expect from a course in the upper undergraduate level. One thing you will not easily learn from the book, however, is that algebraic proofs rely more on a bag of clever, annoying tricks than some fundamental comprehension of the subject matter. And thus, if you ever find yourself stuck in a problem, ask your professor/mentor if you can borrow from her bag of tricks, or else you'd be kicking yourself in annoyance from unable to prove something so simple and elusive.
Overall, the book construction is fairly study, the material inside is comprehensive and fairly digestible, particularly with the subject matter broken down and explained as Gallian does. And, there you have it. Buy it, learn it, and then sell it/treasure it/burn it; you won't be looking at it again unless you hit mathematics graduate school.
For Highschool Students, not serious undergraduates.......2007-05-12
Very general advice is very useless. I hope that the following comments are sufficiently specific so as to inspire a high school student to at least glance at the book and to help an undergraduate shy away from the book.
If you are studying pure mathematics for the first time, then I agree that a new take on exposition might be worthwhile. On the other hand, if you are serious about learning a subject, then a textbook which focuses almost exclusively on the subject is clearly the best choice.
To begin, the exposition in Gallian's book is tainted by the amount of unnecessary comments ranging from a short biography on a mathematician to superfluous quotes by Homer Simpson to insistent excerpts from Beatle's songs. If you want to study math history, then buy a book on math history; if you want Simpsons, look up some episodes, etc. etc. A valid question is: "But what if I want to know about a topic's history and applications?"...Answer: go to Wikipedia or ask a professor.
Gallian's confused exposition can be made slightly clearer by appropriately identifying its audience:
High school students: This text serves as a very good, but not excellent, introduction to abstract algebra. The first few pages of the book are quite decent for an introduction to elementary number theory with proofs. My advice would be to skip the "extra" sections on things like error correction codes in preference of focusing on learning the mathematics. The exercises in the first chapter, as they are throughout the entire book, are not exactly what a mature student would call "exercises", but instead "drills". Doing such drills will help you absorb the material, especially if you are studying this book on your own. You will learn the basics of cyclic groups and rings.
Undergraduate Math majors: Assuming you know a little bit about linear algebra, say at the level of Lang's "Introduction to Linear Algebra" or some introductory real analysis, then optimize your time by avoiding this book and instead study something serious, such as M. Artin's "Algebra" or Dummit and Foote's "Abstract Algebra". The exposition in this book is so clouded and the exercises so routine, that there is almost no way this book will prepare your for graduate studies in mathematics. On the other hand, Artin's "Algebra" D&F's "Abstract Algebra" will most certainly do the job. Compare, for example, Artin's section on equivalence relations and cosets to that of Gallian's. Artin introduces these concepts early on, which makes fundamentals like Lagrange's theorem and the first isomorphism theorem useful and natural. Gallian instead decides to delay these concepts until after he has defined isomorphisms (even more tasteless, homorphisms come after isomorhpisms). In addition, compare D&F's section on ring theory to that of Gallian's. D&F are succinct about the basic axioms (a0 = 0, etc.) and get right to structures like division rings to yield illuminating concepts. Gallian instead dedicates a whole chapter to almost useless things like "subring tests" (you don't need "tests" if you know the definition). These are only but a few of the drastic differences in exposition you will find. Finally, and perhaps not as important, is the notation. It is poor taste to use "Zp" to mean the ring of integers modulo p, versus what grown-ups label as "Z/pZ". In addition, the notation for cardinality could have been better: Gallian uses |G| instead of the unambiguous #G ( the |.| notation should be reserved for absolute value).
***
Here is another telling part of the book: in proving Thm. 20.1 (pg. 352) that given a field F, an irreducible p(X) in F[X], then there exists an extension of F such that p(X) has a root: our author clutters the main point with useless commentary and four strings of equations. If you know what "projection" and "isomorphism" mean, then this "proof" is really just a one-liner, as follows: If x is the projection of X, where x is in F[X]/(p(X)), then p(x) = 0. done.
excellant book.......2007-05-05
This book rocks! Galllian writes the book in language that is clear, precise,and understanable. A great reference book for any advanced algebra class!
Thanks for getting my order to me so quickly.......2007-01-18
I received the correct book (third try to get it) and it came very quickly. Thanks!
Average customer rating:
- classical
- A good *first* start
- What do you need more?
- good supplement
- Mediocre
|
Lie Algebras in Particle Physics (Frontiers in Physics)
Howard Georgi
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Quantum Field Theory
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An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory (Frontiers in Physics)
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Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and Some of Their Applications
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Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition (Graduate Student Series in Physics)
ASIN: 0738202339 |
Book Description
An exciting new edition of a classic text
Howard Georgi is the co-inventor (with Sheldon Glashow) of the SU(5) theory. This extensively revised and updated edition of his classic text makes the theory of Lie groups accessible to graduate students, while offering a perspective on the way in which knowledge of such groups can provide an insight into the development of unified theories of strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions.
Customer Reviews:
classical.......2005-08-05
very well written text about the algebra of standard model,
but not for beginers,a very solid background in particle physics
and symmetry methods for physics is required
A good *first* start.......2003-08-14
This book is good for what it is, namely, something to get your feet wet. When learning the basics of particle physics, e.g. as an undergrad or a beginning experimentalist, this is the quickest way to get a feel for the standard model gauge group.
However, this is *not* a complete text on group theory in particle physics (and therefore, little of what you need for supersymmetric field theories and string theories). So in addition to this book, you'd need something else with an introduction to the other things you need for your particular interest. Try Gilmore's "Applications of Lie algebras...", which I believe is out of print (in libraries). Also, Cornwell's abridged "Group theory in physics" is good (though if you can find the older set of three volumes, that may be more suited to your desires).
I don't suggest many of the other books on group theory for particles/fields/strings. There are tidbits of group theory you can pick up in the particular text you are working with, e.g. "Quantum theory of Fields" by Weinberg if you are learning quantum field theory.
For mathematical physics in general, I strongly suggest "Gauge fields, knots, and gravity" (John Baez), "Differential Geometry for physicists" (Chris Isham), and "Mathematical Physics" (Geroch).
What do you need more?.......2003-02-11
I'd say that, at least, the Georgi's book is too underestimated here.
I agree that this book lacks some notions and concepts which are usually dealt with in the matmatical literature, but not on logical clearity. Every book has its own way. For example the later parts of Green, Schwarz and Witten are also a mere sketches but it sufficiently pinpoints every important steps. A physically inclined reader(?), soon realize that it is filled with (and you may feel the leakage of) the master's intuition. You can see what mathematics going on beneath the physics. It is a well-framed series of informal lectures which reveals some space-between-lines secret.
good supplement.......2002-03-09
good supplement of introductory quantum field theory. particle physics books often have aggressiveness but this is in a relaxed mood, apt for reading in fine sunday mornings. 27 chapters in 300 pages, short chapters, without one for manifold and topology. from this book you can't get a mathematically deep understanding of Lie algebra nor exotic viewpoint for particle/string, but that's not this is for. i hope someday this will be included in Dover classics.
1.finite groups 2.Lie groups 3.SU(2) 4.tensor operators 5.isospin 6.roots and weights 7.SU(3) 8.simple roots 9.more SU(3) 10.tensor methods 11.hypercharge and strangeness 12.Young tableaux 13.SU(n) 14.3-d harmonic oscillator 15.SU(6) and the quark model 16.color 17.constituent quarks 18.unified theories and SU(5) 19.classical groups 20.classification theorem 21.SO(2n+1)and spinors 22.SO(2n+2)spinors 23.SU(n)
Mediocre.......2001-09-01
Georgi's book has its strengths and weaknesses. It is very strong on application to physics but suffers greatly from a lack of mathematical substance. It has all the earmarks of a mathematics book written by a physicist: lots of physical insight but poor logical structure. Clear definitions and statements of theorems are missing and contribute to the nebulous feel of the text.
This is the kind of book that a casual reader will go through and think he has learned alot but for which the serious student who seeks a precise, thorough understanding of the material will likely end up confused at many points. It is a book of tools. The reader will not obtain a mastery of the subject but must suppliment this book with other, more theoretical treatments of representation theory.
The lack of mathematical rigor is by design as Geogi mentions in the preface. It could have been a better book, in my opinion, had it been more fleshed out in that respect.
Customer Reviews:
Fraleigh? awesome, sure.......2007-07-04
This book was my introduction to algebra, and I can say that with me it hit its target - I not only learned and understood abstract algebra, but I grew to love it and be thrilled by it. If you are outside of mathematics and looking for the way in, I don't think you can do much better than Fraleigh. You'll outgrow it - almost as soon as you put it down. But that's just testament to how far it can take you in just a dozen or so chapters.
I would recommend, if you can afford it, also buying a copy of a zippier book like Hungerford or Dummit & Foote (ask around) and using it together with Fraleigh. Fraleigh won't let you down in terms of giving you the space you sometimes need to grasp things (for example, he gives Tons of examples, and there are plenty of easy exercises that allow you to soak in patterns in the structures for yourself) and an advanced book will give you increased perspective and power.
No Student Solution Manual.......2005-11-02
As a student, how can I study without a solution manual? Is all Abstract Algebra classes this way? I have an awful time to study. I'm sorry.
Fraleigh put into perspective.......2005-09-27
[...]
Although, I did not use Fraleigh's textbook directly in the class I attended, I did use it as a frequent source of
explanation and/or practice with it's problem sets. Lets be realistic here, I've seen too many reviews of differnt Algebra
texts from D&F, Artin, Lang, Galian etc., saying something along the lines of "Textbook is not rigorious enough," or
"textbook is weak on theory," "textbook is not approrpiate for undergraduate course," and so on and so forth.
Although I do not deny that certain texts may be written poorely, the vast majority of complaints seem to be generated by certain percieved "defencies" in texts that do not attempt to be laconic (i.e D&F). Obviouslly, there exist suffecient
differences amongst the students who will take Abst. Algebra such that differnt types of textbooks are created to meet the
varying needs of these students.
It is in this context that Fraleigh's textbook should be reviewed. After looking at all the major texts out there for basic undergraduate Algebra (Artin, D&F, Rotman, Herstein, Gallian), I'd say Fraleigh belong somewhere between Galian and Herstein. It is true that it does not cover as much material as D&F, but clearly it was not written with the same purpose in mind as D&F.
If we compare Fraliegh with Herstein we admit that they both cover most of the same subjects in more or less similiar depth.
Herstein beats out Fraliegh 10-1 in all things Linear Algebra. However, I'd say the first 250 pages of "Topics in Algebra" is
roughly equivelent to the 493 pages of Fraleigh. So the question that is asked is why is Fraliegh almost double the size of Herstein?
A quick browse of both books reveals that although the font size (for my copy) is the same, Fraliegh is much more liebral
with the placement of paragraphs and spacing. Whereas "Topics in Algebra" looks cramped and squeezed, Fraleigh's book is much more cosmetic, the pages are littered with
pictures/diagrams, "Historical Notes," numerous drawn out examples. I personally like the spacing in Fraleigh as opposed to Herstein since I feel the former text is much easier to read because of this layout.
If we delve into the actual text-material we do again admit that Herstein is slightly more "mature" then Fraleigh. I believe the exposition in Herstein is probably a little clearer, however, Fraliegh does more "work" for you and gives you more detail. Further Fraleigh gives more application such as to coding, chemistry, and quantum physics etc.. Those who do not believe that the exposition is roughly at the same level, I invite you to turn to p. 83 in Herstein and p. 253 in Fraliegh. Both start with the defintion of rings. Again Herstein spells out the actaul defintion in all 8 axioms. Fraleigh has 3 shortening them by merely giving the condition that a ring must be an abelian group under addition (note it is not always the case that Herstein introduces everything out the long way and Fraleigh the short, more on that later). After defintions, both text introduce examples, again I think most of the examples given by Herstein are rather trivial, whereas Fraleigh's examples are more intresting with some useful links back to Group Theory.
But Fraliegh clearly does more to motivate the reader to learn every new bit of material displayed in the book, althoguh the outline is not always the clearest. This is very evident when comparing the section introducing Fields. Fraleigh commutes the introduction of the topics of fields and homorphisms. Introducing homorphisms of rings first, although it makes little differnece in understanding the material, I muchl liked Herstein's direct introduction. I felt it was more natural to introduce fields then homorphisms, then ID, PID, ED
etc. It just made mroe sense to me, but this is my POV.
Fraliegh again says almost the exact same thing that Herstein does except he has far more exposition (although i found sometimes that the exposition could be a bit confusing). Another observation I'd like to make was I felt Fraleigh was far stronger in its Group Theory sections then it was with Fields and Polynomials. For some reason, the sections on polynomial rings were rather weak for the work we were doing in class and I cannot recommend Fraliegh for this if thats what you need. However, in general I found Fraleigh was easily digestable and could be read very leisurely.
The major drawback of the book of course is its problem sets. Although they are good for extra practice, they are by no means challenging. In this respect, Herstein and the rest are lightyears away from Fraleigh. This setup again is proabbly mroe to do with the differnt philosophies of how a student should learn rather then some weakness in design. Fraleigh nurtures a student so he can take his first steps in the subject and walk. As opposed to D&F whose terse exposition is akin to throwing a child onto the floor and yelling at him to return to you on his own. Which is better? I don't know, but I must certainly say I felt much "happier" when I was reading "A First Course in Algebra."
Again, I feel that Fraleigh's text is a wonderful introduction and supplement to a student (like myself) who did not come from a long and prestigious mathematics background. For this audience, the book is perfect for the first half of Algebra (Group Theory) and somewhat lacking for the second half (Rings, Fields, and Galois) but no book is perfect and given its size and the wealth of knowledge (historywise and application wise) that is stored in this volume I am content with what it offers to the reader. Also, as mentioned, since it covers roughly the same as Herstein, a more difficult class could utilize this book by just offering differnt problem sets to the students with additional supplementary exposition from the instructor. Overall the book is, gentle, flexible, and broad.
Decent Book But Has Flaws.......2005-06-30
I am laughing at the good professor's review below. I do believe he must be a professor: he writes a lot and conveys little in terms of detail or example.
Speaking of examples, an introductory book should have ample amount of them. The reviewer below says Dummit and Foote as well as Artin is too "sophisticated" for students. I disagree. They are wonderful books. Fraliegh, I have to agree with another reviewer on here, is really best kept as a supplement. Fraliegh lacked good examples that were of any real sophistication or had often masked some important developments in the exercises. Also, soem of the standard notion such as for automorphism (i.e. Aut) and others were blatantly missing. It is best to get students new to the subject emerged in the notation from the start and give clear examples that represent an easy one for clarity and introdcution, and then at least one other, preferably two, which take the reader to a more detailed and more challenging, sophistitcation of development. Fraliegh does not do that. Moreover, I think the transition to another higher level book will be more painful after Fraliegh alone. It should be read along side Dummit and Foote or Artin--two fantastic books.
Also I hated Galian's text myself, I have to agree with that reviewer on this: it is indeed to damn wordy. I like succint, straight to the point books that have well chosen exercises and especially numerous examples. Dummit and Foote (D&F)do that especially well, then Artin next. Fraliegh, while and excellent book, doesn't compare but after D&F and Artin, it is the best thing.
So, I give is three stars. Not bad at all.
Instructor's perspective: Excellent text for a university course.......2005-06-28
I am a mathematics professor at a small liberal arts university in Canada, and I use Fraleigh's book to teach a 300-level full-year introductory course in abstract algebra. I find it excellent. It is clear to me that Fraleigh has been teaching a course very similar to mine, to students very similar to mine, for probably three decades. He has figured out almost exactly the right way to introduce a difficult subject. He makes my job easy.
The book is broken into many small chapters, each of which can be easily translated into one or two hours of high-quality lecture. Thus, I can structure my lectures to closely follow the book, which has two advantages: (1) less preparation time for me (important when you have a heavy teaching load but still want to do a good job) and (2) The students have effectively a preprinted copy of the classroom lecture notes (so they can spend less time writing notes and more time paying attention and learning).
Fraleigh avoids the countless pitfalls which bedevil the naive algebra instructor (and many other textbook writers). He keeps things simple without making them stupid. Math students at my university have a wide range of background and skills. Some are highly talented and motivated, and I want to adequately prepare these students for graduate school. Others students are `future highschool teachers' (may God help our children) who apparently chose to study math because they thought it would resemble the polynomial arithmetic which they enjoyed in highschool, and who are often quite upset to discover otherwise. For these people, math is `supposed' to be computation, and any kind of logic or abstraction is anathema.
There are some abstract algebra texts (such as Bloch) which are designed to appeal to the `computational' crowd. Abstract algebra is one of the most beautiful and important parts of mathematics, and I describe these books as `algebra murdered and come back rotting from the grave'. There are also algebra books (such as Dummit & Foote, or Michael Artin) which are designed for `future graduate students'. Although I love these books, they are too sophisticated for most of my students. Also, their long chapters and sometimes poor organization means that preparing a decent lecture is often a lot of work.
Fraleigh finds an excellent compromise between these extremes. He develops some quite sophisticated material (including Galois theory and homology), but always finds a way to explain things simply and clearly. He provides exactly the right amount of information (e.g. the right number of examples and corollaries) to allow the instructor to move through the material efficiently (so you can actually finish the syllabus), while still explaining everything clearly. The exposition is lucid, and the books tightly organized. There are plenty of exercises which are challenging, but not too challenging, which is a boon when you are designing homework assignments.
I have a few small issues. For example, I don't think it's a good idea to develop group theory in terms of `abstract binary operations; one should develop it in terms of concrete symmetry groups. Also, I found that the section on the structure theory of finitely generated abelian groups and the chapter on homology theory were both a bit weak and needed to be supplemented. However, these are both very minor complaints compared to the overall quality of the book.
Teaching an advanced pure math course with a poorly designed textbook is a nightmare (and I should know). Teaching algebra using Fraleigh was a snap.
Book Description
"This exceptional book provides valuable insights into the evolution of financial economics from the perspective of a major player."
-- Robert Litzenberger, Hopkinson Professor Emeritus of Investment Banking, Univ. of Pennsylvania; and retired partner, Goldman Sachs
A History of the Theory of Investments is about ideas -- where they come from, how they evolve, and why they are instrumental in preparing the future for new ideas. Author Mark Rubinstein writes history by rewriting history. In unearthing long-forgotten books and journals, he corrects past oversights to assign credit where credit is due and assembles a remarkable history that is unquestionable in its accuracy and unprecedented in its power.
Exploring key turning points in the development of investment theory, through the critical prism of award-winning investment theory and asset pricing expert Mark Rubinstein, this groundbreaking resource follows the chronological development of investment theory over centuries, exploring the inner workings of great theoretical breakthroughs while pointing out contributions made by often unsung contributors to some of investment's most influential ideas and models.
Download Description
""This exceptional book provides valuable insights into the evolution of financial economics from the perspective of a major player.""-- Robert Litzenberger, Hopkinson Professor Emeritus of Investment Banking, Univ. of Pennsylvania; and retired partner, Goldman Sachs A History of the Theory of Investments is about ideas -- where they come from, how they evolve, and why they are instrumental in preparing the future for new ideas. Author Mark Rubinstein writes history by rewriting history. In unearthing long-forgotten books and journals, he corrects past oversights to assign credit where credit is due and assembles a remarkable history that is unquestionable in its accuracy and unprecedented in its power. Exploring key turning points in the development of investment theory, through the critical prism of award-winning investment theory and asset pricing expert Mark Rubinstein, this groundbreaking resource follows the chronological development of investment theory over centuries, exploring the inner workings of great theoretical breakthroughs while pointing out contributions made by often unsung contributors to some of investment's most influential ideas and models.
Customer Reviews:
A Treasure Trove of Historical Context.......2006-11-25
I'm about halfway through the book and must say that I have been pleasantly surprised. I bought the book as a quick way to present accurate historical context to my students. In my opinion, knowledge does not grow; it evolves. A study of that evolution, with the paths not chosen, is an important step in mastering a discipline. This would be enough for me to recommend the book, but there's much more.
Here's a small sample of the items that I've gleaned so far.
What is the intersection of business math, gambling gmaes, and Pascal's triangle? (The graphic that he uses look suspiciously like a binomial tree....) The shift from insurance products to investments as the driver of the mathematics of finance. What is the Fisher separation theorem (which my students consider to be obvious) and why is it not obvious? The importance of the Ph.D. thesis of John Burr Williams, one of the most important economists of which you've probably never heard. How Ben Graham nearly got the Modigliani-Miller theorem but didn't believe that his conclusion was realistic.
This is just from the first hundred pages. I've already bought about a dozen books to extend my reading and am downloading dozens of articles from JSTOR. Most of us learned investment theory from a textbook. I strongly suggest that you add this book, and its contextual knowledge, to your library.
Not bad as a bibliography, but so what?.......2006-10-28
A better book for the layman is anything by William Bernstein. As Nobel Prize winner Sharpe says on the cover, this is a "idiosyncratic and eclectic" book--a bibliography that's annotated.
After you have learned a subject, of course it's fun to go through archival historic documents and comment on them. Every discipline does this. But it proves nothing except erudition.
One problem I have with this book is that it doesn't teach you anything you don't already know--and if you don't already know it, you won't learn it from this book.
Also it's too expensive, except by those who wish to put on airs and display it on their bookshelf.
Finally, nearly all the vaunted theories of finance have analogs (and digital equivalents) in applied mathematics used in electrical engineering and physics. You could argue that financial engineering is simply cribbing these fields.
BTW I have not read this book, but have added it to my 'wish list' and eventually will get around to reading it.
Probably one of the best books I have ever read.......2006-06-12
This is arguably one of the best books that I have read. Almost everything relevant to finance and investments is covered in this book, including a good historical discussion of the theories of investment. In addition, Mark Rubinstein has a very clear and simple writing style that transforms complex concepts into words. The proofs are done in a fashion that most readers can understand, and the sections are divided up in easy to break-up sections. This is definitely a must read for any serious student of finance. All of the seminal work in finance is discussed in this text, and this can be used as a guide to asset pricing, corporate finance, investments, and other finance courses. In fact, I would have used this as a supplement to reading journal articles if it were available in the past.
Rubinstein has done it agian!.......2006-04-25
This book is excellent; it gives a new insight in the history of discoveries in financial economics like no other book. The book is nicely organized with a very useful "Index of Ideas".
What is the ancient history of Pascal's triangle, that again is an important building block for the Cox-Ross-Rubinstein binomial tree? Who was the first to circulate a paper on how time varying volatility was related to fat tailed distributions? The book has some interesting surprises for most of us, and along this historical path Rubinstein shares detailed wisdom on many financial models.
Espen G. Haug
Author of "The Complete Guide to Option Pricing Formulas"
Stunning, Imaginative, Accurate.......2006-03-07
Mark Rubinstein is a man who likes to think for himself, which is a good thing for the rest of us. Most readers will be familiar with Mark's contributions to financial economics primarily through his co-authorship, with John Cox and Steve Ross, of the binomial options pricing model - no mean feat, that. But his interests and contributions are far more broad. My personal favorite paper of Mark's is his relatively overlooked "The Strong Case for the Generalized Logarithmic Utility Model as the Premier Model of Financial Markets" [GLUM], published in 1977 as the second chapter of Haim Levy and Marshall Sarnatt's "Financial Decision Making under Uncertainty" (Academic Press New York 1977); this is a wonderful model which places restrictions on tastes a la Arrow, Debreau, Hirshleifer, Cass, Stiglitz , Hakansson, Kraus, Grauer and Litzenberger, rather than placing restrictions on beliefs as in the more conventional models commonly understood to represent "Modern Portfolio Theory", i.e., Markowitz, Sharpe, Treynor, Lintner, Mossin, Fama, Jensen, Black, Scholes and Merton. In the 1977 GLUM paper, Rubinstein notes that the latter, MPT-type, models are not necessarily superior to the former type and chalks their popularity up to historical happenstance and ideological path-dependence: "Men were not lacking in evidence, but inherited habits of thought, which often extended beyond science proper to a worldview, [and] caused them to cling stubbornly to superannuated ideas."
In "A History of the Theory of Investments", Rubinstein achieves two things: first, he presents his own annotated bibliography of nearly 200 of the most important works in theoretical financial economics; second, he presents a much better etiology of these ideas than a reader might find in a textbook presentation, working diligently to correct examples of Robert K. Merton's "Matthew effect". Marrying these two objectives, a daunting task for most mere mortals, seems to have been easy for Mark Rubinstein. He notes, "...much of the forgotten truth about the origins of ideas in financial economics is there for all to see, in older books residing on library shelves or in past journals now often available in electronic form [e.g., JSTOR]. Much of the history of investments has only been rewritten by the victors, and can be corrected from primary sources." As a student, and later as a professor and even practitioner, Rubinstein spent untold time poring through countless thousands of documents -- primary material, methodically working his way forward and backward through the more and less famous papers and their citations and references in the literature, in order to learn these ideas for himself. Along the way he contributed quite a bit himself. A gift to us all was his willingness to publish his notes on each of what he deems to be the 180 or so most important contributions to the field.
Delineating three periods in the literature as "ancient" (pre-1950), "classical" (1950 - 1980, and "modern" (post-1980), Rubinstein educates us about 40 ancient papers, from Leonardo of Pisa's 1202 "Liber Abaci" through Leonard Jimmie Savage's 1954 "Foundations of Statistics", including the works of Pascal, Fermat, Huygens, de Witt, Halley, de Moivre, Bernoulli, Pareto, Arrow, Bachelier, Knight, Keynes, Working, Hicks, Fisher, Cowles, Graham, Williams, Macaulay, von Hayek, von Neumann, Morgenstern, Friedman, and others, even throwing in Kahneman and Tversky's 1979 Prospect Theory for good measure.
Following the "ancient" literature with the "classical" works, Rubinstein precedes Markowitz' 1952 "Portfolio Selection" with Clendenin's 1951 paper on stock price volatility. More than 100 papers are discussed in this section, including all the usual suspects as well as some unusual ones, including Roy, Arrow, Dreze (who along with others anticipated Harrison & Kreps' work on martingales and continuous states), Kendall, Cootner, Friedman, Tobin, Modigliani & [Merton] Miller (whose work was anticipated by J.B. Williams, in his 1938 "Law of the Conservation of Investment Value"), Debreau, Osborne, Alexander, Coase, Muth, Lucas, Stiglitz, Sharpe, Samuelson, Lorie, Pratt, Linter, Mossin, Treynor, Fama, Cohen, Pogue, Farrell, King, Rosenberg, Engle, Hakansson, Jensen, Leland, Roll, MacBeth, Litzenberger, Cass, Black, Scholes, [Robert C.] Merton, Hirshleifer, Rubinstein, Blume, Friend, Basu, Banz, Latane, LeRoy, Kraus, Cox, Grossman, Figlewski, Ross, Malkiel, Varian, Constantinides, Geske, [Edward] Miller, Levy, Rendleman, Bartter, concluding with Breeden's 1979 ICAPM. Rubinstein also includes Merton's 1987 "Simple Model" in the classical period.
Rubinstein's last section, the "modern" period, which admittedly contains little of the behavioral finance literature, covers about 30 significant papers from the famous Grossman and Stiglitz 1980 critique and Leland's 1980 paper on portfolio insurance to Brunnermeier and Parker's 2005 paper on asset pricing bubbles. Researchers in this section include many of those listed in the classical period, as well as Diamond, Verrecchia, [Ken] French, Schwert, Binder, Merges, Mehra, Prescott, Hong, Stein, Ohlson, Berk, Wang, Carhart, Daniel, Grinblatt, Titman, Wermers, Green, Naik, Sagi, Abreu, and Parker.
I wish Rubinstein's excellent History had been available back when I was a student roaming the stacks in the Lippincott library at Penn, poking into old dusty tomes and spending what little money I had Xeroxing all of those old wonderful papers, learning "ancient" and "classical" ideas the hard way. From the APT to the Zero-beta CAPM, Mark Rubinstein has covered about 300 individual ideas in this unparalleled bibliography, with informed and detailed (but economical) discussion of nearly 200 worthy papers. Any serious financial economist should read, and re-read, this exquisite book.
Book Description
Create dazzling color schemes for any indoor space. You'll quickly sharpen your color skills--and open the door to a more rewarding and profitable career with John F. Pile's Color in Interior Design. He takes the mystery out of working with color, showing you step-by-step how to plan color relationships in an organized and systematic way...prepare color schemes for interiors...make color charts...select materials...put together color samples...work with additive and subtractive color...understand the psychological impact of color...use color in functional spaces...and solve a wide range of practical color problems. This hands-on color design tool packs illustrations of the best color work by well-known professionals--plus a survery of color in historic interiors that will guide you through restoration and adaptive reuse projects.
Customer Reviews:
color in interior design.......2007-09-21
As a lay person just interested in learning more about the use of color in interior design, this was an excellent book. While the first several chapters were very "text bookish", the remainder was very layman friendly. I feel more confident in undertaking color projects in my home and in conversing about the use of color with friends, who are now asking my opinions. The chapters that helped me the most were on the color wheel and color relationships. I enjoyed it and will now pursue my interest in color and design.
Color in Interior Design.......2007-09-03
There are zillions of books on this complex world of color.
This one is the best for all Interior Designers, students and teachers, it is written by John F. Pile, an authority in Interior Design. You will enjoy learning the Color Systems for your business, and covers the historical aspect of of the Bauhaus School of Design, and also color in Historic Interiors, including artists and personal experiences.
Michele Beatriz
color.......2006-11-11
it's a really helpful book for designers.you can find whatever you need about colors...
Color theroy.......2006-08-15
I am studing interior design and this book was recommended to me. I think it is an excellent book.
ANything by John Pile...........2006-03-22
This is a great color reference for interior designers, or aspiring designers. It is a great visual reference, offers very good detail and I use it often for reference when putting together story boards and offering ideas to clients.
Customer Reviews:
The Spiritual in Art - an absolute winner!.......2006-05-27
I have owned this book for over twenty years and I never get tired of pouring over it again. It is an absolute treasure trove of information and is packed full of glorious illustrations- it's the one book I refuse to loan out. As an artist, this is the most important book in my collection.
the spiritual in art: abstract painting 1890 - 1985.......2000-03-25
There is a fantastic quality to the compliation of works in the Spiritual in Art, that indicates a profound understanding of the mystical forces of inspiration involved with the process of artistic endeavor. The book chronicles the exhibition of the same name organized by Maurice Truchman and Judi Freeman at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Many of the major artists of the 20th century are represented; Mondrian, Duchamps and Kandinsky to name a few. The ideosyncratic spin to the show lies in the examination of their work from a philospophical and spiritual standpoint that involves a more involved examination than is often given with the popular criticism styles of art history - ie; socio-political and aesthetic. With the aid of this book, the reader gleans a more profound understanding of the motivational forces at work in these artists whose creations transport viewers to new worlds and dimensions with only a glance.
Average customer rating:
- Pollock, only Pollock, nothing else but Pollock
- THIS BOOK OFFERS GREAT INSIGHT INTO POLLOCK'S ARTISTIC MIND
- simply the best
- Best Reproductions and Most Complete
- Pollock Without the Boring Mythologizing
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Jackson Pollock
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Jackson Pollock
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ASIN: 0810961938 |
Amazon.com
The almost mythic Jackson Pollock--a roughshod, ill-mannered, prodigiously ambitious, aggressive, alcoholic, tormented artist--is alive and unwell in this book. But Kirk Varnedoe and Pepe Karmel, the chief curator and adjunct assistant curator, respectively, of the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Painting and Sculpture, also go deeply into Pollock's art in eye-opening ways. This book is the catalog for the retrospective of Pollock's art-shattering oeuvre at the Museum of Modern Art in the fall of 1998 and includes many biographical pictures as well as color plates of Pollock's paintings, from the awkward but earnest early works to the late, great, famous canvasses. Varnedoe's essay, aptly titled "Comet: Jackson Pollock's Life and Work," deftly invites the reader into Pollock's world, starting with his country studio: "The structure, often called a barn, is in fact more like a glorified tool shed." Karmel's essay, "Pollock at Work: The Films and Photographs of Hans Namuth," is a truly groundbreaking exploration of Pollock's technique. Karmel has scrutinized every frame of every piece of film, still or moving, ever taken of Pollock painting. He arrives at absolutely original conclusions: Pollock's all-over swirls of dripped and flung paint often began as figurative works and clearly relate to such all-American stalwarts as Thomas Hart Benton. Karmel makes countless other sharp observations, noting the difference, for example, between fast-looking marks and the slow, deliberate movements with which they were made (and vice versa). His essay is a work of brilliant scholarship, written thrillingly, and it will forever change the way any serious viewer looks at Pollock's paintings. It makes this volume absolutely essential for understanding the work of this great, sad artist. --Peggy Moorman
Book Description
Jackson Pollock is widely considered the most challenging and influential American artist of the 20th century. In his revolutionary paintings of the late 1940s, he dripped paint into complex webs of interlacing lines, rhythmically punctuated by pools of color. With their allover composition, apparent abstraction, and spontaneous but controlled paint handling, these powerful works announced the emergence of Abstract Expressionism. This sumptuously illustrated book offers a fresh overview of his achievement, reinterpreted for a new generation and features a complete visual record of the artist's work, including over 200 color reproductions of paintings, drawings, and prints, enhanced by life-sized details, foldouts, and documentary photographs. An essay by Kirk Varnedoe explores Pollock's life, the mythology that so quickly grew up around him as the prototypical "action painter", and the different critical schools that have tried to lay claim to his legacy. Pepe Karmel offers new insight into Pollock's famous "drip" technique, as revealed by an intensive, computer-assisted study of photographs and films of Pollock at work. This volume was published to accompany the first major survey of the artist's career since 1967, held in 1998 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Customer Reviews:
Pollock, only Pollock, nothing else but Pollock.......2007-04-16
This is the catalogue for the landmark Pollock exhibition held at the Moma and the Tate in 1998-1999. Considering the steep rise in the insurance value of Pollock's paintings, such a comprehensive retrospective is not likely to be repeated in the near future and we are therefore fortunate to have such a brilliant book to help us remember it. The late Kirk Varnedoe was one of the best interpreters of contemporary American art and his text, never anecdotical and always informative without being pedantic, does justice to the masterpieces without falling into any of the cliches that often pollute our view of this great artist.
Beautiful illustrations make this book an indispensable presence in any arts library.
THIS BOOK OFFERS GREAT INSIGHT INTO POLLOCK'S ARTISTIC MIND.......2004-03-12
________________________________________________________________________________________________
I purchased this book when it first came out and refer back to it often. A person could spend hours at a time pouring over the plates and fold-out pictures (pun intended). Not only does this particular book provide the best collection of absolutely superb quality Jackson Pollock reproductions that I'm aware of, but the narrative is extremely well written and essential to understanding many things regarding Pollock's thought process and artistic technique.
Pepe Karmel's chapter imparticular, in which he analyzes Hans Namuth's photographs, is nothing less than brilliant detective work. I found it fascinating to find that underlying the lacy layers of at least one of Pollock's drip paintings are figurative images which he made within a narrative context. Although the complete details of this "narrative" may never be fully known, Pepe speculates that Pollock may have been acting out the destruction of some of his inward demons by first physically acknowledging and creating them and then systematically covering them within the confines of the finished painting. I'll leave it to you to get the book and both read and see for yourself all of the findings which include the deciphering of some of the figures and their meanings. With this discovery, the creation of the painting involved (Number 27, 1950) becomes not only a very strenuous and at once both spontaneous and preplanned action - but a true "ritual." Was he destroying these figures or merely absorbing them into a larger and more complex environment? We'll probably never know all the details. I wonder if Pollock would have disclosed answers to these questions had he been confronted with them during his life? Perhaps this would have been too personal. But maybe he did confide the details of what he was doing to someone and another good researcher might come across a total revelation in a hidden diary someday. I'm sure this is just wishful thinking on my part, but how I love a good mystery!
simply the best.......2003-08-08
This breathtaking catalogue is simply the best single volume available on Jackson Pollock, and this is primarily--but not only--because of the number and quality of the reproductions it offers. Almost every one of the dozen or so Pollock books in my library contains a painting not available in the others, but this book collects and beautifully photographs the greatest number and variety of his canvases--outside of a catalogue raisonee.
As the other reviewers state, there are many generously-sized fold-out pages here, and the crispness and resolution of these big reprints and of the more modest pages are simply amazing. To take two essential examples, this book's reprints of "One: Number 31, 1950" and "Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952" are astoundingly clear, better than any of the many other versions I've seen in art books, even in Ellen Landau's large-format survey, a book which also includes gatefolds.
(Another reviewer, by the by, states that "Lucifer" is not available in any other book, which is not true. Among other places, it appears in Landau, in Elizabeth's Frank's concise volume, and as the sole color reproduction in the book for the 1965 MOMA retrospective. Anyway, it gets terrific treatment here.)
Another invaluable inclusion in this book is a great number of full-sized detail photos of the canvases. For example, on a page adjacent to "Lucifer" and "Autumn Rhythm" and "Full Fathom Five," we see another photo of just one small section of that same painting but in 1-to-1 scale; these details reveal much of the dynamic, kinetic, urgent quality of these works, their encrustations of sand, glass, pennies, paint caps--traits which even this book could otherwise never offer a livingroom Pollock-viewer.
Further, having seen the exhibit in January of 1999, I can attest to the generally excellent fidelity of the color-balance. (Curiously, no one seems to be able to capture "Autumn Rhythm"'s grey-teal passages in a book, but if you were at this show or have viewed the painting at the Met you've seen them.)
The accompanying articles are excellent. Kirk Varnedoe overviews of Pollock's life, artistic aims, his accomplishments, all illustrated with family and archival photographs and drawing on Pollock quotations. Pepe Karmel uses the extensive photographic and film record of Pollock painting to analyze Pollock's physical movements. Most wonderful are Karmel's computer reconstructions of early states of the painting "Autumn Rythm," based on Hans Namuth's photos of Pollock at work.
In sum, this book gives the finest, fullest offering of both Pollock's life and art.
Best Reproductions and Most Complete.......2001-05-31
I picked this book up at the MOMA Pollock retrospective a couple years ago and have used it extensively. Having seen many of the paintings in this book firsthand, I can say that these are some of the best reproductions offerred in book form on Pollock's work. Another plus is that several paintings are printed on fold-out pages, so that the work doesn't cross the book's seam. So many of his paintings are extremely wide that this makes a lot of sense (otherwise, there would be hardly any resolution in the height dimension).
If you're interested in Pollock and need to refer to the reproductions, I absolutely recommend this book above all others out there.
Pollock Without the Boring Mythologizing.......2000-06-05
Excellent companion piece to the MOMA show (which traveled to London's Tate) goes beyond all other Pollock explorations. A "must" for students of modern American art as well as those just wanting to get a better understanding of what Pollock was REALLY DOING.
Large format features fold-out reproductions of breathtakingly high quality. Among these, incredibly, are paintings not found in any other published sources. (The incomparable Lucifer (1947) is one such work).
The text is scholarly but readable, and although there is a considerable amount of it, each open page of writing offers at least a couple relevant and highly interesting photos or other illustrations. The many large color plates would certainly make a gorgeous and impressive coffee table book for anyone who doesn't choose to read it.
Kirk Varnedoe writes definitively about Pollock's mercurial life & career. Varnedoe's nearly 75 pages of biographical analysis are a welcome alternative to the kind of misguided mythologizing about Pollock that has for a long time colored the artist as an overrated art "star."
Pepe Karmel's contribution to this book is an amazing analysis of Pollock's painting process through an exhaustive examination of the famous films and photographs of Pollock at work. This was a fascinating, ground-breaking part of the exhibition, and is equally wonderful in the book.
Well worth the price.
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