Customer Reviews (3)

Nice Treatment
Do you know what a Capped grope is? If so, this is the book for you! This is a really readable, though understandably advanced, book. It seems to contain everything a person could possibly want to know about embedding a disk in a 4-manifold. I'm far from an expert on 4-manifolds, but I haven't seen much of this material presented anywhere else. If you want to become a master of 4-manifolds, you need this book like Luke Skywalker needed Yoda.

My copy doesn't have the cool orange cover so I feel a little sad. Hopefully you won't get the brown one like me.

The weirdness of four-manifolds
Lee Carlson's review can hardly be improved upon, but I have one addendum, responding to his lament at the end of the review:

A concrete construction of a fake 4-space can be found in the last section of Chapter 1 of Dan Freed and Karen Uhlenbeck's (1984, revised 1991) book, "Instantons and Four-Manifolds", a great compliment to Freedman and Quinn's book. Unfortunately, it's just as hard to find and about three times as costly as the reviewed book. Unless you really can't live without seeing how this is done, take it on faith (not much consolation to a physicist who wants to know if black holes behave differently in fake spacetime). A cheaper alternative: If you visit a major university math library and take a bunch of quarters for their copier, the relevant Ch.1, "Fake R^4", is fourteen pages long.

Brilliant overview of topology in 4 dimensions
It is too bad this book is out of print, for it introduces the reader to a fascinating branch of topology and has the clearest proof of the 4-dimensional Poincare conjecture. In addition, the authors do not hesitate to employ diagrams as needed to illustrate the main points and to assist the reader in visualizing 4-dimensional objects. The authors give a fine discussion as to the reasons why four dimensions is harder to deal with topologically than dimensions five or greater, this being essentially due to the behavior of 2-dimensional disks: mapping 2-disks into 3-manifolds results (generically) with 1-dimensional self-intersections; in 4-dimensions the intersections are isolated points, and in 5 dimensions or more the 2-disks can be embedded.

Interestingly, the authors choose not to employ the famous "Kirby calculus" in the proofs of the main results, despite the fact that it was used extensively in their earlier works. They break the book into two parts, the first one emphasizing embedding theorems and the second one the structure of manifolds. Those readers interested in the proof of the 4-dimensional Poincare conjecture will find it in chapter 7, as a consequence of the authors proof of the h-cobordism theorem, the latter being nontrivial. It is the absence of a smooth structure on the h-cobordism that makes it so difficult in dimension four.

The existence of exotic structures on 4-manifolds is discussed in detail in chapter 8 and the authors endeavor to show why dimension 4 is unique compared to higher dimensions. The existence of exotic structures on 4-manifolds is definitely interesting, and has recently been shown to have importance in physics. But physicists who need an explicit example of one of these structures will not find one here, and I know of no such examples in the literature. Such an example would be interesting from the standpoint of the behavior of quantum field theories on such 4-manifolds, as one would like to know if this behavior would indeed be different than that on the manifold with the "standard structure". ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 1551. ... Read more

Book Description
Do you have a proclivity for sesquipedalian words? Has your prose become ossified because you haven't augmented your vocabulary lately? Here's the perfect pedagogical solution. Word Smart Genius Edition teaches more than 150 of the most interesting and challenging words in the English language. Perfect for college students, professionals, wordmongers, crossword puzzle devotees, or just plain show-offs, Word Smart Genius Edition informs and instructs in a uniquely entertaining way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent way to learn spectacular words while on the go.
This CD set was very helpful to me. I had previously tried to learn words by studying them in vocabulary books. That way of studying was not particularly helpful as it was easy to forget them the next day.

However, unlike those books, this CD set manages to be both helpful and amusing while allowing you learn by ear. The unpretentious speakers give out amusing anecdotes that you would hear in everyday life while using the words in context. An casual and "Average Joe" explanation is given after each word is mentioned. Never during the audio will you feel that the conversations are boring or hard to listen to.

I have to add, though, that it is more helpful if you listen to the CDs more than once and study the list of words (enclosed in the box) in order to cement them solidly in your mind.

For those who are studying for the new SAT, an additional perk is that many of these words can easily be used on the SAT Writing portion (essay) to impress the test scorers and get a high score. The vocabulary used in this set is also very useful for impressing bosses or teachers at school.

Overall, "Word Smart, Genius Edition" is a very nice way to learn unusual words and furnish your vocabulary while having a lot of fun.The audio set is a great investment for generating a greater linguistic vocabulary that will benefit you tremendously at work or school (or for impressing your friends, for that matter).

Good production, lacks etymology, academic rigor
There are some good words on the five CDs (a bargain), although it takes some initial breaking in to not be annoyed by the flamboyant speakers.What the CD completely lacks, as it was purported to have, is a discussion of the roots of words.This discussion was rarely had, and in one case (to my knowledge), was incorrect.Not for any serious Classics student hoping to reconnect with contemporary roots.

Fun Way to Expand Your Vocabulary
This sets contains 5 CDs and goes through about 150 words.Of all Word Smart Vocabulary Building set CDs, this one has the most interesting words.

The first CD covers the vocabulary related to: Cruel to Be Kind; Country Mouse and City Mouse.

The second CD coverts the vocabulary related to: For Better or for Worse; War and Peace.

The third CD covers the vocabulary related to: From Mountains to Molehills; Rogers and Hart.

The fourth CD covers the vocabulary related to:Earth and Sky; Womb to Tomb.

The fifth CD covers the vocabulary related to: Socrates and Plato; Mutt and Jeff.

The recordings are very entertaining to listen to.After defining the words, they are dramatized, often in a humorous way, adding fun to the learning process.

Forget it!
This was the most disappointing CD.I have a long commute so I thought this would be great opportunity to brush up on my vocabulary.This is a great CD if you want to impress people with words they will have to ask you the meaning of.Totally ridiculous!

Most of the words sounded like another language.Not a way to improve your language skills, but the best way to isolate yourself and show your superiority.At the same time I bought the Verbal Advantage book.Great!!That is a gradual transition from common vocabulary to more complex, it's your choice.That's something that I think was lacking with this CD.Break out the cheese and wine and impress your leftist friends.Oh, I forgot to mention the Barbara Streisand and Bill & Hillary examples, wonder which way these people lean???
This rating system only goes as low as one star, otherwise I would have choosen 0 stars.
Save your hard earned money and buy something that is useful. ... Read more

Book Description
This book, the inaugural volume in the University Lecture Series,is based on lectures presented at Pennsylvania State Universityin February 1987. The lectures attempt to give a taste of theaccomplishments of manifold topology over the last 30 years. Bythe late 1950s, algebra and topology had produced a successfuland beautiful fusion. Geometric methods and insight, now vitallyimportant in topology, encompass analytic objects such asinstantons and minimal surfaces, as well as nondifferentiableconstructions.

Keeping technical details to a minimum, the authors lead thereader on a fascinating exploration of several developments ingeometric topology. They begin with the notions of manifold andsmooth structures and the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, and proceed tothe topology and geometry of foliated 3-manifolds. They alsoexplain, in terms of general position, why four-dimensionalspace has special attributes, and they examine the insightDonaldson theory brings. The book ends with a chapter on exoticstructures on $\mathbf R^4$, with a discussion of the twocompeting theories of four-dimensional manifolds, onetopological and one smooth.

Background material was added to clarify the discussions in thelectures, and references for more detailed study are included.Suitable for graduate students and researchers in mathematicsand the physical sciences, the book requires only background inundergraduate mathematics. It should prove valuable for thosewishing a not-too-technical introduction to this vital area ofcurrent research. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Phi Delta Kappan, published by Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. on March 1, 2004. The length of the article is 2426 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A Tale of Plagiarism and a New Paradigm.
Author: Michael P. Freedman
Publication: Phi Delta Kappan (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2004
Publisher: Phi Delta Kappa, Inc.
Volume: 85Issue: 7Page: 545

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Who is the ancient Greek goddess of love?

Who said "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"?

What was the Iron Curtain?

What's the difference between ROM and RAM?

Where is the Alamo?

Why are we asking you all this?

Because you should know. Yes, you should actually be able to answer all these questions, because chances are your classmates can. CultureScope answers these questions and more. It will show you how all the facts you learned in high school, the programs you watch on television, the music you listen to on the radio, the movie you're planning to see Saturday night, and daily events interrelate to form our modern culture.

For example, you might think Thomas Edison, the Internet, and The Iliad have nothing in common. They do. CultureScope shows you how to make the connection, with challenging quizzes, "hypertext" cross-referencing, and (if your brain is still hungry) lists of movies, books, art, and music you should check out if you want to know more.

So take this book home and learn about everything from Spartacus to SPAM.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is the fastest growing test-preparation company in the country, helping over a million students each year prepare for college, grad school, and professional licensing exams with its courses, books, and software. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Cursory Resource
I have had "Culturescope" for a few years.I refer to it, on and off, for several reasons...one of which is when I know I will be with a group of people involved in an area or profession about which I know nothing or little.

For this purpose, the book offers material for conversation starters, the ability to ask pertinent questions, and for assessing changes in an industry or profession.(I also enjoy trivia, and this is a good source for information.)

As an educator and writer, the book is a good jumping off point for questions to stimulate learning, as well as a guide to some basic information, precluding the need for indepth research.(For example, I needed only a few terms related to horses, and found the meanings behindDam, Sire, Gelding, The Call, and Oatburner without digging through volumes on horses.)

It has information for practically every level of learner, from grade school children on up.

The reason I am writing a review after having the book for so long is, I was looking to see if the staff of Princeton had done an update since the 1995 edition.

I look forward to a new one.

Lorin Nails-Smoote'
Consultant

Great organization of max. info. for the high school student
This book does a great job of covering a general overview of information from a wide variety of areas that (should be!) of interest to the high school student.If they're not interested in this type of information,they may well be byfirst cracking open the book.Well planned,interesting, inter-related information, but not in that "usual"information format.One thing leads to another and you're learning! Others in the family will probably pick it up and get involved in it ifit's just laying around the house.You may have to make reservations forit an hour at a time.ENJOY!Life is knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
This monograph describes and quantifies the risk of developing new malignancies among more than 2 million cancer survivors for the period 1973 to 2000, utilizing data from the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program cancer registries. With chapters organized according to the initial site of cancer, the monograph provides data on the risks of subsequent malignancies for more than 50 adult and 18 childhood cancers, including new data on uncommon sites and individual histologic types. NCI researchers systematically examined the risks of subsequent cancers by gender, age at diagnosis of the initial cancer, and time since diagnosis, as well as the initial treatment and histologic type of certain cancers. Each chapter compares the patterns of multiple cancers with the findings from other studies, and discusses the results in terms of potential risk factors and mechanisms ... Read more

Amazon.com
Most asthma books focus on the physical impact of this diseaseand only briefly discuss the effects it can have on your lifestyle andsense of well-being. Living Well with Asthma addresses thisissue in detail. Through anecdotes from asthma sufferers, the authorsdispel myths and correct faulty assumptions using a simple four-question formula. To further topple self-defensive barriers toaccepting and dealing with the disease, one chapter identifies thebasic defense mechanisms people use and provides guidelines on how toovercome them. Subsequent chapters concentrate on practical advice forspecific issues, such as handling asthma's effects on sex life,creating a more supportive family environment, and matching yourself tothe best physician.Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Living well with Asthma
This is a great book, very down to earth and practical. It is intended mostly for adults suffering from asthma, but I think it would also be good for family members to read and it gives information on living with childrenwith asthma too. The authors focus, not on the medical aspects of asthma,but on the day to day lives of asthma sufferers and how they can betterhandle problems in such areas as sex life, family relationships and work.The authors give concrete examples of specific problems and easy tounderstand solutions. They also give many case illustrations from theirwork with asthmatics. Most importantly, the book is easy and interesting toread. I was able to pick it up and read just the sections I most wanted toknow about without feeling lost. I strongly recommend this book to asthmasufferers and their friends and relatives, as well as to healthprofessionals who want to get a clearer picture of what asthma sufferersand their families go through and how to help them. ... Read more