A K Peters Ltd.

Complex dynamics; families and friends.

Thirty-two international university-based mathematicians — among them Mikhail Lyubich, John Milnor, Mitsuhiro Shishikura, and William Thurston — contribute 17 chapters on the mathematical theory of the dynamics of iterated holomorphic maps in one or several complex dimensions. Many chapters are studies on selected families of iterated maps in complex dynamics while others are on particular "old friend" mappings, and the title also refers to the many connections of complex dynamics to other branches of mathematics and physics. The text is organized into four sections: polynomial dynamics from combinatorics to topology, rational and transcendental dynamics, two complex dimensions, and a section highlighting how progress in mathematics happens because people make it happen. The papers include some "classics", previously unpublished, that have influenced the field for years, as well as current cutting-edge research. No subject index. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Creating games; mechanics, content, and technology.

Designed for computer game professionals, this textbook covers technology, content and mechanics of game design as well as the role of each member of a development team. McGuire (computer science, Williams College) and Jenkins (computer science, Brown U.) cover the programming languages, software development, artificial intelligence, low-level machine models, machine vision, graphics, networking and control systems that go into the making of commercial video games, offering interactive exercises and worksheets at the end of each chapter to reinforce these elements. A companion website contains additional worksheets and teaching materials such as syllabi, lecture presentations and assessment tools. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Crocheting adventures with hyperbolic planes.

Novel and astonishing, Taimina (mathematics, Cornell U.) crochets models of hyperbolic planes. This beautifully illustrated volume explains how to teachers, mathematicians, and the interested reader. Along the way, she relates the history of geometry through different concepts like art, patterns, and buildings, and explains positive and negative curvatures and hyperbolic geometry, and the geometry of these planes through crocheted examples. She includes the history of crochet, non- Euclidean geometry, different geometric shapes, and the uses of hyperbolic geometry in a variety of fields. Her colorful works illustrate the volume, photographed in natural backgrounds, and drawings are also provided throughout. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Logical labyrinths.

Having in the past written both recreational puzzle books and more technical writings in the field of symbolic logic, Smullyan here presents a hybrid intended to serve as a text for a one- or two-semester introductory course in logic. He begins with puzzles involving liars and truth-tellers, moves into the subject of propositional logic, which formalizes the reasoning of the liar/truth-teller puzzles, and then presents materials of first-order logic, while including discussion of infinity and formal axiomatics. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Mathematicians of the world, unite!; the International Congress of Mathematicians; a human endeavor.

The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is a meeting of mathematicians from around the world which has been held every four years, starting in 1897, with each ICM held in a different city. Curbera's (mathematics, U. of Seville, Spain) book is a followup to the historical exhibition about the congresses, organized by the author for the 25th ICM held in Madrid in 2006. The book provides a lasting, full description of what was prepared for the exhibit, describing the culture of mathematics over the past century, and the effect of wars and strained relations between nations on the scientific community. Illustrated throughout with b&w and color photographs and reproductions. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Recountings; conversations with MIT mathematicians.

This volume reconstructs the history of the mathematics department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through interviews with the elder members of the department, mathematicians that played a large role in transforming the department from one intended to simply impart the necessary mathematics to MIT's engineering students to one of the more renowned teaching and research institutions in the country. In addition to being a history of the department, the interviews also provide a portrait of a particular generation of mathematicians, as interviewees are also asked about their educations and experiences beyond and prior to working at MIT. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Writing for video game genres; from FPS to RPG.

Editor Despain is a freelance multimedia writer who has experience in storytelling and narrative design in video games, and she has collected essays and articles for novices and experienced fellow authors who need to learn how to write engaging stories for a variety of gaming genres. Experts from the world of video game design offer tips and advice on how to create compelling storylines for first-person shooter games (FPS), role-playing games (RPG), multi-player online games, real-time strategy games, sports games and many others. Appendices include sample scripts and coding examples for a variety of existing games. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)