High Note

The primary goal of this 2003 book is to give a brief introduction to the main ideas of algebraic and geometric invariant theory. It assumes only a minimal background in algebraic geometry, algebra and representation theory. Topics covered include the symbolic method for computation of invariants on the space of homogeneous forms, the problem of finite-generatedness of the algebra of invariants, the theory of covariants and constructions of categorical and geometric quotients. Throughout, the emphasis is on concrete examples which originate in classical algebraic geometry. Based on lectures given at University of Michigan, Harvard University and Seoul National University, the book is written in an accessible style and contains many examples and exercises. A novel feature of the book is a discussion of possible linearizations of actions and the variation of quotients under the change of linearization. Also includes the construction of toric varieties as torus quotients of affine spaces.

Why do governments turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and with what effects? This book argues that governments enter IMF programs for economic and political reasons, and finds that the effects are negative on economic growth and income distribution. By bringing in the IMF, governments gain political leverage - via conditionality - to push through unpopular policies. Note that if governments desiring conditions are more likely to participate, estimating program effects is not straightforward: one must control for the potentially unobserved political determinants of selection. This book addresses the selection problem using a dynamic bivariate version of the Heckman model analyzing cross-national time-series data. The main finding is that the negative effects of IMF programs on economic growth are mitigated for certain constituencies since programs also have distributional consequences. But IMF programs doubly hurt the least well off in society: they lower growth and shift the

Why do governments turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and with what effects? This book argues that governments enter IMF programs for economic and political reasons, and finds that the effects are negative on economic growth and income distribution. By bringing in the IMF, governments gain political leverage - via conditionality - to push through unpopular policies. Note that if governments desiring conditions are more likely to participate, estimating program effects is not straightforward: one must control for the potentially unobserved political determinants of selection. This book addresses the selection problem using a dynamic bivariate version of the Heckman model analyzing cross-national time-series data. The main finding is that the negative effects of IMF programs on economic growth are mitigated for certain constituencies since programs also have distributional consequences. But IMF programs doubly hurt the least well off in society: they lower growth and shift the

This collection of texts (originally published in German under the title Holzwege) is Heidegger's first post-war book and contains some of the major expositions of his later philosophy. Of particular note are 'The Origin of the Work of Art', perhaps the most discussed of all of Heidegger's essays, and 'Nietzsche's Word 'God is Dead',' which sums up a decade of Nietzsche research. Although translations of the essays have appeared individually in a variety of places, this is the first English translation to bring them all together as Heidegger intended. The text is taken from the last edition of the work, which contains the author's final corrections together with important marginal annotations that provide considerable insight into the development of his thought. This fresh and accurate new translation will be an invaluable resource for all students of Heidegger, whether they work in philosophy, literary theory, religious studies, or intellectual history.

The sanctus (the 'thrice holy'of Isaiah 6.3) is found in nearly all ancient and modern eucharistic prayer. Its origin as a constituent element in this prayer is one of the unsolved mysteries of Christian liturgy, and the author of this study puts forward a comprehensive investigation into its background and sources. In making his enquiry, Dr Spinks shows that earliest attestations of its use derive from Syria and Palestine. This evidence is then matched against current theories of the origin of the eucharistic prayer, which leads the author to state his theories about the likely origin of the sanctus, and the implications this has for theories of anaphoral evolution. The use of the sanctus from the seventh century through to the present is described, a survey which takes note of the innovatory uses of Cranmer and Luther, and which places the study of the sanctus in a wide theological context.

Few American playwrights have exerted as much influence on the contemporary stage as Sam Shepard. His plays are performed on and off Broadway and in all the major regional American theatres. They are also widely performed and studied in Europe, particularly in Britain, Germany and France, finding both a popular and scholarly audience. In this collection of seventeen original essays, American and European authors from different professional and academic backgrounds explore the various aspects of Shepard's career - his plays, poetry, music, fiction, acting, directing and film work. The volume covers the major plays, including Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, and True West, as well as other lesser known but vitally important works. A thorough chronology of Shepard's life and career, together with biographical chapters, a note from the legendary Joseph Chaikin, and an interview with the playwright, give a fascinating first-hand account of an exuberant and experimental personalit

Few American playwrights have exerted as much influence on the contemporary stage as Sam Shepard. His plays are performed on and off Broadway and in all the major regional American theatres. They are also widely performed and studied in Europe, particularly in Britain, Germany and France, finding both a popular and scholarly audience. In this collection of seventeen original essays, American and European authors from different professional and academic backgrounds explore the various aspects of Shepard's career - his plays, poetry, music, fiction, acting, directing and film work. The volume covers the major plays, including Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, and True West, as well as other lesser known but vitally important works. A thorough chronology of Shepard's life and career, together with biographical chapters, a note from the legendary Joseph Chaikin, and an interview with the playwright, give a fascinating first-hand account of an exuberant and experimental personalit

This volume contains selected papers by leading researchers from the international conference entitled Tits Buildings and the Model Theory of Groups, held in Würzburg in 2000. The first part of the book provides a general introduction to many aspects of buildings and their geometries, based on short lecture courses given at the conference. The rest of the book comprises survey and research articles on model theoretic results and techniques, showing the vitality and richness of these branches of mathematics. Among the most fruitful techniques, amalgamation constructions à la Hrushovski are explained and classified as they continue to play an important role both in model theory and geometry. The articles succeed in demonstrating the close connection between geometry, group theory and model theory. The book will be invaluable to graduate students as well as experienced researchers working in these areas of mathematics.

This book, first published in 2001, focuses on Poincaré, Nash and other Sobolev-type inequalities and their applications to the Laplace and heat diffusion equations on Riemannian manifolds. Applications covered include the ultracontractivity of the heat diffusion semigroup, Gaussian heat kernel bounds, the Rozenblum-Lieb-Cwikel inequality and elliptic and parabolic Harnack inequalities. Emphasis is placed on the role of families of local Poincaré and Sobolev inequalities. The text provides the first self contained account of the equivalence between the uniform parabolic Harnack inequality, on the one hand, and the conjunction of the doubling volume property and Poincaré's inequality on the other. It is suitable to be used as an advanced graduate textbook and will also be a useful source of information for graduate students and researchers in analysis on manifolds, geometric differential equations, Brownian motion and diffusion on manifolds, as well as other related areas.

Nonlinear elasticity is concerned with nonlinear effects associated with deformations of elastic bodies subjected to external forces or temperature variations. It has important applications in many areas, including the aerospace and rubber industries, and biomechanics. This book, written by a group of leading researchers invited especially for the purpose, provides an up-to-date and concise account of the fundamentals of the theory of nonlinear elasticity and a comprehensive review of several major current research directions in this important field. It combines the characteristics of coherence and detail found in standard treatises with the strength and freshness of research articles. The emphasis is placed firmly on coverage of modern topics and recent developments rather than on the very theoretical approach often found. The book will be an excellent reference source for both beginners and specialists in engineering, applied mathematics and physics. It is also ideally suited for gra

The Society for the Foundations of Computational Mathematics supports fundamental research in a wide spectrum of computational mathematics and its application areas. As part of its endeavour to promote research in computational mathematics, the society regularly organises conferences and workshops which bring together leading researchers in the diverse fields impinging on all aspects of computation. This book presents thirteen papers written by plenary speakers from the 1999 conference, all of whom are the foremost figures in their respective fields. Topics covered include complexity theory, approximation theory, optimisation, computational geometry, stochastic systems and the computation of partial differential equations. The wide range of topics covered illustrates the diversity of contemporary computational mathematics and the intricate web of its interaction with pure mathematics and application areas. This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in all areas

In this book, Professor Lounesto offers a unique introduction to Clifford algebras and spinors. The initial chapters could be read by undergraduates; vectors, complex numbers and quaternions are introduced with an eye on Clifford algebras. The next chapters will also interest physicists, and include treatments of the quantum mechanics of the electron, electromagnetism and special relativity with a flavour of Clifford algebras. This book also gives the first comprehensive survey of recent research on Clifford algebras. A new classification of spinors is introduced, based on bilinear covariants of physical observables. This reveals a new class of spinors, residing between the Weyl, Majorana and Dirac spinors. Scalar products of spinors are classified by involutory anti-automorphisms of Clifford algebras. This leads to the chessboard of automorphism groups of scalar products of spinors. On the analytic side, Brauer-Wall groups and Witt rings are discussed, and Caucy's integral formula is

Semiclassical approximation addresses the important relationship between quantum and classical mechanics. There has been a very strong development in the mathematical theory, mainly thanks to methods of microlocal analysis. This book develops the basic methods, including the WKB-method, stationary phase and h-pseudodifferential operators. The applications include results on the tunnel effect, the asymptotics of eigenvalues in relation to classical trajectories and normal forms, plus slow perturbations of periodic Schrödinger operators appearing in solid state physics. No previous specialized knowledge in quantum mechanics or microlocal analysis is assumed, and only general facts about spectral theory in Hilbert space, distributions, Fourier transforms and some differential geometry belong to the prerequisites. This book is addressed to researchers and graduate students in mathematical analysis, as well as physicists who are interested in rigorous results. A fairly large fraction can be

In the past few years elliptic curve cryptography has moved from a fringe activity to a major challenger to the dominant RSA/DSA systems. Elliptic curves offer major advances on older systems such as increased speed, less memory and smaller key sizes. As digital signatures become more and more important in the commercial world the use of elliptic curve-based signatures will become all pervasive. This book summarizes knowledge built up within Hewlett-Packard over a number of years, and explains the mathematics behind practical implementations of elliptic curve systems. Due to the advanced nature of the mathematics there is a high barrier to entry for individuals and companies to this technology. Hence this book will be invaluable not only to mathematicians wanting to see how pure mathematics can be applied but also to engineers and computer scientists wishing (or needing) to actually implement such systems.

This book is the outcome of the 1996 Warwick Algebraic Geometry EuroConference, containing 17 survey and research articles selected from the most outstanding contemporary research topics in algebraic geometry. Several of the articles are expository: among these a beautiful short exposition by Paranjape of the new and very simple approach to the resolution of singularities; a detailed essay by Ito and Nakamura on the ubiquitous A,D,E classification, centred around simple surface singularities; a discussion by Morrison of the new special Lagrangian approach to giving geometric foundations to mirror symmetry; and two deep, informative surveys by Siebert and Behrend on Gromow-Witten invariants treating them from the point of view of algebraic and symplectic geometry. The remaining articles cover a wide cross-section of the most significant research topics in algebraic geometry. This includes Gromow-Witten invariants, Hodge theory, Calabi-Yau 3-folds, mirror symmetry and classification of

This edition of the French philosopher Auguste Comte's (1798–1857) early essays shows Comte at the heart of the political and intellectual debates of Restoration France. The young Comte forged the central features of his philosophical system in response to the central challenge of the 1820s - how to find a new foundation for political legitimacy and thus to 'close' the revolutionary era. Stuart Jones's introduction to this new edition shows how Comte grappled with problems that confronted liberals and counter-revolutionaries alike, and identifies the novelty of his solution. The essays presented in this edition reveal the systematizing character of Comte's intellect, which lay at the root of his enormous appeal to nineteenth-century readers. In addition to the substantial introduction, this volume contains a chronology, biographical information on key figures, and a bibliographical note making this an accessible volume highly suitable for undergraduate use.

This edition of the French philosopher Auguste Comte's (1798–1857) early essays shows Comte at the heart of the political and intellectual debates of Restoration France. The young Comte forged the central features of his philosophical system in response to the central challenge of the 1820s - how to find a new foundation for political legitimacy and thus to 'close' the revolutionary era. Stuart Jones's introduction to this new edition shows how Comte grappled with problems that confronted liberals and counter-revolutionaries alike, and identifies the novelty of his solution. The essays presented in this edition reveal the systematizing character of Comte's intellect, which lay at the root of his enormous appeal to nineteenth-century readers. In addition to the substantial introduction, this volume contains a chronology, biographical information on key figures, and a bibliographical note making this an accessible volume highly suitable for undergraduate use.

The Phenomenology of Everyday Life presents results from a rigorous qualitative approach to the psychological study of everyday human activities and experiences. This book does not replace scientific observation with humanistic analysis, but provides an additional perspective on significant human questions. The qualitative approach this book employs is grounded in the philosophical traditions of existentialism and phenomenology, which use dialogue as their major method of inquiry. These traditions are especially well adapted to encompass and describe human events and activities. In addition, such events can be properly investigated only on the basis of a method sensitive enough to articulate the nuances of human experience and reflection. In this latter regard, it is important to note that insights deriving from literature and the humanities are equally revealing of the human world as those from experimental psychology, biology or medicine.

This volume presents up-to-date research on finite geometries and designs, a key area in modern applicable mathematics. An introductory chapter discusses topics presented in each of the main chapters, and is followed by articles from leading international figures in this field. These include a discussion of the current state of finite geometry from a group-theoretical viewpoint, and surveys of difference sets and of small embeddings of partial cycle systems into Steiner triple systems. Also presented are successful searches for spreads and packing of designs, rank three geometries with simplicial residues and generalized quadrangles satisfying Veblen's Axiom. In addition, there are articles on new 7-designs, biplanes, various aspects of triple systems, and many other topics. This book will be a useful reference for researchers working in finite geometries, design theory or combinatorics in general.

This volume surveys recent interactions between model theory and other branches of mathematics, notably group theory. Beginning with an introductory chapter describing relevant background material, the book contains contributions from many leading international figures in this area. Topics described include automorphism groups of algebraically closed fields, the model theory of pseudo-finite fields and applications to the subgroup structure of finite Chevalley groups. Model theory of modules, and aspects of model theory of various classes of groups, including free groups, are also discussed. The book also contains the first comprehensive survey of finite covers. Many new proofs and simplifications of recent results are presented and the articles contain many open problems. This book will be a suitable guide for graduate students and a useful reference for researchers working in model theory and algebra.

The first of two companion volumes on anabelian algebraic geometry, this book contains the famous, but hitherto unpublished manuscript 'Esquisse d'un Programme' (Sketch of a Program) by Alexander Grothendieck. This work, written in 1984, fourteen years after his retirement from public life in mathematics, together with the closely connected letter to Gerd Faltings, dating from 1983 and also published for the first time in this volume, describe a powerful program of future mathematics, unifying aspects of geometry and arithmetic via the central point of moduli spaces of curves; it is written in an artistic and informal style. The book also contains several articles on subjects directly related to the ideas explored in the manuscripts; these are surveys of mathematics due to Grothendieck, explanations of points raised in the Esquisse, and surveys on progress in the domains described there.

This book introduces the use of Lie algebra and differential geometry methods to study nonlinear integrable systems of Toda type. Many challenging problems in theoretical physics are related to the solution of nonlinear systems of partial differential equations. One of the most fruitful approaches in recent years has resulted from a merging of group algebraic and geometric techniques. The book gives a comprehensive introduction to this exciting branch of science. Chapters 1 and 2 review basic notions of Lie algebras and differential geometry with an emphasis on further applications to integrable nonlinear systems. Chapter 3 contains a derivation of Toda type systems and their general solutions based on Lie algebra and differential geometry methods. The last chapter examines explicit solutions of the corresponding equations. The book is written in an accessible 'lecture note' style with many examples and exercises to illustrate key points and to reinforce understanding.

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan is arguably the greatest piece of political philosophy written in the English language. Written in a time of great political turmoil (Hobbes' life spanned the reign of Charles I, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, and the Restoration), Leviathan is an argument for obedience to authority grounded in an analysis of human nature. Since its first publication in 1991 Richard Tuck's edition of Leviathan has been recognised as the single most accurate and authoritative text, and for this revised edition Professor Tuck has provided a much amplified and expanded introduction, which will provide students unfamiliar with Hobbes with a cogent and accessible introduction to this most challenging of texts. Other vital aids to study include an extensive guide to further reading, a note on textual matters, a chronology of important events and brief biographies of important persons mentioned in Hobbes' text.

This volume contains survey papers by the invited speakers at the Conference on Semigroup Theory and Its Applications which took place at Tulane University in April, 1994. The authors represent the leading areas of research in semigroup theory and its applications, both to other areas of mathematics and to areas outside mathematics. Included are papers by Gordon Preston surveying Clifford's work on Clifford semigroups and by John Rhodes tracing the influence of Clifford's work on current semigroup theory. Notable among the areas of application are the paper by Jean-Eric Pin on applications of other areas of mathematics to semigroup theory and the paper by the editors on an application of semigroup theory to theoretical computer science and mathematical logic. All workers in semigroup theory will find this volume invaluable.

The Novikov Conjecture is the single most important unsolved problem in the topology of high-dimensional non-simply connected manifolds. These two volumes are the outgrowth of a conference held at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (Germany) in September 1993, on the subject of 'Novikov Conjectures, Index Theorems and Rigidity'. They are intended to give a snapshot of the status of work on the Novikov Conjecture and related topics from many points of view: geometric topology, homotopy theory, algebra, geometry and analysis. Volume 1 contains: • A detailed historical survey and bibliography of the Novikov Conjecture and of related subsequent developments, including an annotated reprint (both in the original Russian and in English translation) of Novikov's original 1970 statement of his conjecture • An annotated problem list • The texts of several important unpublished classic papers by Milnor, Browder, and Kasparov • Research/survey papers on the Novikov Conjecture by Fer

Non-commutative fields (also called skew fields or division rings) have not been studied as thoroughly as their commutative counterparts, and most accounts have hitherto been confined to division algebras - that is skew fields finite dimensional over their centre. Based on the author's LMS lecture note volume Skew Field Constructions, the present work offers a comprehensive account of skew fields. The axiomatic foundation, and a precise description of the embedding problem, is followed by an account of algebraic and topological construction methods, in particular, the author's general embedding theory is presented with full proofs, leading to the construction of skew fields. The powerful coproduct theorem of G. M. Bergman is proved here, as well as the properties of the matrix reduction functor, a useful but little-known construction providing a source of examples and counter-examples. The construction and basic properties of existentially closed skew fields are given, leading to an ex

The study of vector bundles over algebraic varieties has been stimulated over the last few years by successive waves of migrant concepts, largely from mathematical physics, whilst retaining its roots in old questions concerning subvarieties of projective space. The 1993 Durham Symposium on Vector Bundles in Algebraic Geometry brought together some of the leading researchers in the field to explore further these interactions. This book is a collection of survey articles by the main speakers at the symposium and presents to the mathematical world an overview of the key areas of research involving vector bundles. Topics covered include those linking gauge theory and geometric invariant theory such as augmented bundles and coherent systems; Donaldson invariants of algebraic surfaces; Floer homology and quantum cohomology; conformal field theory and the moduli spaces of bundles on curves; the Horrocks–Mumford bundle and codimension 2 subvarieties in P4 and P5; exceptional bundles and stable

This two-volume book contains selected papers from the international conference 'Groups 1993 Galway/St Andrews' which was held at University College, Galway in August 1993. The wealth and diversity of group theory is represented in these two volumes. Five main lecture courses were given at the conference. These were 'Geometry, Steinberg representations and complexity' by J. L. Alperin (Chicago), 'Rickard equivalences and block theory' by M. Broué (ENS, Paris), 'Cohomological finiteness conditions', by P. H. Kropholler (Queen Mary and Westfield College, London), 'Counting finite index subgroups', by A. Lubotzky (Hebrew University, Jerusalem), 'Lie methods in group theory' by E. I. Zel'manov (University of Wisconsin at Madison). Articles based on their lectures, in one case co-authored, form a substantial part of the Proceedings. Another main feature of the conference was a GAP workshop jointly run by J. Neubüser and M. Schönert (Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschole, Aachen). Two

The subject of this book lies on the boundary between probability theory and the theory of function spaces. Here Professor Braverman investigates independent random variables in rearrangement invariant (r.i.) spaces. The significant feature of r.i. spaces is that the norm of an element depends on its distribution only, and this property allows the results and methods associated with r.i. spaces to be applied to problems in probability theory. On the other hand, probabilistic methods can also prove useful in the study of r.i. spaces. In this book new techniques are used and a number of interesting results are given. Most of the results are due to the author but have never before been available in English. Here they are all presented together in a volume that will be essential reading for all serious researchers in this area.

The concepts of a locally presentable category and an accessible category have turned out to be useful in formulating connections between universal algebra, model theory, logic and computer science. The aim of this book is to provide an exposition of both the theory and the applications of these categories at a level accessible to graduate students. Firstly the properties of l-presentable objects, locally l-presentable categories, and l-accessible categories are discussed in detail, and the equivalence of accessible and sketchable categories is proved. The authors go on to study categories of algebras and prove that Freyd's essentially algebraic categories are precisely the locally presentable categories. In the final chapters they treat some topics in model theory and some set theoretical aspects. For researchers in category theory, algebra, computer science, and model theory, this book will be a necessary purchase.

This book provides an introduction to recent developments in the theory of blow up algebras - Rees algebras, associated graded rings, Hilbert functions, and birational morphisms. The emphasis is on deriving properties of rings from their specifications in terms of generators and relations. While this limits the generality of many results, it opens the way for the application of computational methods. A highlight of the book is the chapter on advanced computational methods in algebra using Gröbner basis theory and advanced commutative algebra. The author presents the Gröbner basis algorithm and shows how it can be used to resolve computational questions in algebra. This volume is intended for advanced students in commutative algebra, algebraic geometry and computational algebra, and homological algebra. It can be used as a reference for the theory of Rees algebras and related topics.

Representation theory plays an important role in algebra, and in this book Manz and Wolf concentrate on that part of the theory which relates to solvable groups. The authors begin by studying modules over finite fields, which arise naturally as chief factors of solvable groups. The information obtained can then be applied to infinite modules, and in particular to character theory (ordinary and Brauer) of solvable groups. The authors include proofs of Brauer's height zero conjecture and the Alperin-McKay conjecture for solvable groups. Gluck's permutation lemma and Huppert's classification of solvable two-transive permutation groups, which are essentially results about finite modules of finite groups, play important roles in the applications and a new proof is given of the latter. Researchers into group theory, representation theory, or both, will find that this book has much to offer.

Pesin theory consists of the study of the theory of non-uniformly hyperbolic diffeomorphisms. The aim of this book is to provide the reader with a straightforward account of this theory, following the approaches of Katok and Newhouse. The notes are divided into two parts. The first develops the basic theory, starting with general ergodic theory and introducing Liapunov exponents. Part Two deals with the applications of Pesin theory and contains an account of the existence (and distribution) of periodic points. It closes with a look at stable manifolds, and gives some results on absolute continuity. These lecture notes provide a unique introduction to Pesin theory and its applications. The author assumes that the reader has only a good background of undergraduate analysis and nothing further, so making the book accessible to complete newcomers to the field.

Algebraic geometers have renewed their interest in the interplay between algebraic vector bundles and projective embeddings. New methods have been developed for questions such as: what is the geometric content of syzygies and of bundles derived from them? how can they be used for giving good compactifications of natural families? which differential techniques are needed for the study of families of projective varieties? Such problems have often been reformulated over the last decade; often the need for a deeper analysis of the works of classical algebraic geometers was recognised. These questions were addressed at successive conferences held in Trieste and Bergen. New results, work in progress, conjectures and modern accounts of classical ideas were presented. This collection represents a development of the work conducted at the conferences; the Editors have taken the opportunity to mould the papers into a cohesive volume.

This is the first unified treatment in book form of the lower K-groups of Bass and the lower L-groups of the author. These groups arise as the Grothendieck groups of modules and quadratic forms which are components of the K- and L-groups of polynomial extensions. They are important in the topology of non-compact manifolds such as Euclidean spaces, being the value groups for Whitehead torsion, the Siebemann end obstruction and the Wall finiteness and surgery obstructions. Some of the applications to topology are included, such as the obstruction theories for splitting homotopy equivalences and for fibering compact manifolds over the circle. Only elementary algebraic constructions are used, which are always motivated by topology. The material is accessible to a wide mathematical audience, especially graduate students and research workers in topology and algebra.

J. Frank Adams had a profound influence on algebraic topology, and his works continue to shape its development. The International Symposium on Algebraic Topology held in Manchester during July 1990 was dedicated to his memory, and virtually all of the world's leading experts took part. This two volume work constitutes the proceedings of the symposium; the articles contained here range from overviews to reports of work still in progress, as well as a survey and complete bibliography of Adams' own work. These proceedings form an important compendium of current research in algebraic topology, and one that demonstrates the depth of Adams' many contributions to the subject. This second volume is oriented towards stable homotopy theory, the Steenrod algebra and the Adams spectral sequence. In the first volume the theme is mainly unstable homotopy theory, homological and categorical algebra.

The use of geometric methods in classical mechanics has proven to be a fruitful exercise, with the results being of wide application to physics and engineering. Here Professor Marsden concentrates on these geometric aspects, and especially on symmetry techniques. The main points he covers are: the stability of relative equilibria, which is analyzed using the block diagonalization technique; geometric phases, studied using the reduction and reconstruction technique; and bifurcation of relative equilibria and chaos in mechanical systems. A unifying theme for these points is provided by reduction theory, the associated mechanical connection and techniques from dynamical systems. These methods can be applied to many control and stabilization situations, and this is illustrated using rigid bodies with internal rotors, and the use of geometric phases in mechanical systems. To illustrate the above ideas and the power of geometric arguments, the author studies a variety of specific systems, in

J. Frank Adams had a profound influence on algebraic topology, and his works continue to shape its development. The International Symposium on Algebraic Topology held in Manchester during July 1990 was dedicated to his memory, and virtually all of the world's leading experts took part. This two volume work constitutes the proceedings of the symposium; the articles contained here range from overviews to reports of work still in progress, as well as a survey and complete bibliography of Adams' own work. These proceedings form an important compendium of current research in algebraic topology, and one that demonstrates the depth of Adams' many contributions to the subject. Here in the first volume the theme is mainly unstable homotopy theory, homological and categorical algebra. The second volume is oriented towards stable homotopy theory, the Steenrod algebra and the Adams spectral sequence.

Now available in paperback, this is the first English translation of the most important work of political thought of the fifteenth century. The Catholic Concordance is the first major treatise to argue for consent through representative councils as a major prerequisite for legitimate law and government, and is the most learned and original work associated with the conciliar movement in the late medieval church. Cusa's arguments influenced such thinkers as Luther, Bruno and Locke, and Professor Sigmund's introduction places his work in its full historical and philosophical context. The volume contains all the standard series features including a chronology, note on sources and bibliography, and as one of the earliest formulations of the view that political legitimacy rests on consent, The Catholic Concordance will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students of the history of European ideas.

Motion is manifest in the atmosphere in an almost infinite variety of ways. In Dynamics in Atmospheric Physics, Dr Richard Lindzen describes the nature of motion in the atmosphere, develops fluid dynamics relevant to the atmosphere, and explores the role of motion in determining climate and atmospheric composition. The author presents the material in a lecture note style, and the emphasis throughout is on describing phenomena that are at the frontiers of current research, but due attention is given to the methodology of research and to the historical background of these topics. The author's treatment and choice of topics is didactic. Problems at the end of each chapter will help students assimilate the material. In general the discussions emphasize physical concepts, and throughout Dr Lindzen makes a concerted effort to avoid the notion that dynamic meteorology is simply the derivation of equations and their subsequent solution. His desire is that interested students will delve further