Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 20, 2004|Volume 32, Number 19

Yale Books in Brief

The following is a list of books recently or soon-to-be published by members of the Yale community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers.

To submit information about books for this column, send e-mail to opa@yale.edu.

Fractals and Chaos: The Mandelbrot Set and Beyond
Benoit B. Mandelbrot, Sterling Professor of Mathematical Sciences
(Springer)

Benoit Mandelbrot brought about a mathematical revolution with the publication, 23 years ago, of a picture of what is now called the "Mandelbrot Set." His description of "fractals" -- a name he coined to describe a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale (each fragment of the whole is a smaller copy of the whole) -- offered not only a new way of looking at mathematical problems but also of looking at the physical world. Real-world objects such as snowflakes, coastlines, clouds and mountains could be described as fractals, Mandelbrot pointed out. "Fractals and Chaos" combines hard-to-find early papers by Mandelbrot with additional chapters that describe the historical background and context of his mathematical research, covering such topics as quadratic dynamics and its Julia and Mandelbrot sets, nonquadratic dynamics, Kleinian limit sets and the Minkowski measure, among others. "What we see in this book is a glimpse of how Mandelbrot helped change our way of looking at the world," Yale mathematician Peter W. Jones writes in the foreword. "It is not just a book about a particular class of problems, but contains a view on how to approach the mathematical and physical universe."

Modern Architecture and Other Essays
Vincent Scully, Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, with introductions by Neil Levine
(Princeton University Press)

Neil Levine, a former student of Vincent Scully, selected 20 essays for inclusion in this book that reveal the breadth and depth of the art historian's work from the 1950s through the 1990s. The pieces were chosen for their contribution of an understanding of modern architecture and their relative unavailability to current readers. Levine also offers an overview of Scully's career and introduces each essay, setting the scholarly and cultural scene. The essays document Scully's seminal views on the relationship between the natural and the built environment and trace his concern with the fabric of the street and of communities. The essays also highlight Scully's engagement with the careers of noted 20th-century architects, among them Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn and Robert Venturi.

The Frederick Douglass Papers, Series Two: Autobiographical Writings, Volume 2: My Bondage and My Freedom
Co-edited by the late John W. Blassingame, formerly professor of history and African and African-American studies, and John R. McKivigan, Peter P. Hinks, L. Diane Barnes, Sean P. Adams and Gerald Fulkerson
(Yale University Press)

With the publication of "My Bondage and My Freedom" in 1855, former Maryland slave Frederick Douglass became the first black person to join a select company of Americans to publish a second and entirely new autobiography. This book includes a new edition of "My Bondage and My Freedom" with a substantial introduction and extensive annotations. This publication of the second volume of the Autobiographical Writings Series by Yale's Frederick Douglass Papers is the last volume directed by the project's founding editor, the late John W. Blassingame. He began the project in 1973 and oversaw the completion of the five-volume series of Douglass' speeches. After stepping down as the project's principal investigator in 1994, he continued to lend direction to editorial work on Douglass' autobiographies until his death in 2000. In the decade between Douglass' first autobiography, "Narrative," and "My Bondage and My Freedom," the former slave had become an accomplished journalist who had risen to key leadership positions in the northern free black and American reform communities.

Physicians' Cancer Chemotherapy Drug Manual 2004
Dr. Edward Chu, professor of internal medicine (oncology) and pharmacology; and Dr. Vincent DeVita Jr., professor of internal medicine (oncology) and of epidemiology and public health
(Jones and Bartlett Publishers)

The Physicians' Cancer Chemotherapy Drug Manual is an up-to-date guide to all aspects of cancer chemotherapy. It provides a catalog of over 100 drugs -- both on- and off-label -- commonly used in cancer treatment. A section on "Common Chemotherapy Regimens" provides a quick reference to management of specific cancers, arranged alphabetically, and an introductory chapter offers a concise update and overview of the field.

Seasoned by Salt: A Voyage in Search of the Caribbean
Jerry L. Mashaw, professor of law, and Anne U. MacClintock
(Sheridan House)

In 1999, Jerry Mashaw and his wife, Anne MacClintock, set sail for Grenada on their 38-foot boat. "Seasoned by Salt" recounts their one-year sailing adventure, detailing their experiences as they traveled to many islands. During their travels, Mashaw and MacClintock learned of the historical bond between North America and the Caribbean, particularly their intertwined legacy of slavery and racial division, as well as of the importance of trade relations between the two regions. MacClintock, a painter, illustrated the book with sketches of picturesque views and of islanders they met on their journey. The authors alternate chapters to weave their perspectives together into one tale.

Governance, Accountability, and the Future of the Catholic Church
Edited by Bruce Russett, the Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science, and Francis Oakley
(Continuum Books)

"Governance, Accountability, and the Future of the Catholic Church" is a collection of papers from a three-day conference held last March at St. Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale. Presenters at the event included Catholic bishops, theologians and laity, as well as Catholic faculty at Yale, who addressed challenges faced by the Catholic church and offered hope for its future in the face of such challenges. The revised and expanded papers from the conference include the keynote address by Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh and a response by Peter Steinfels of The New York Times.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Report decries illegal logging in Indonesia

Yale and unions launch 'historic' new partnership'

Journalist describes adventures at 'tip of the spear' of the Iraq invasion

Yale climbers find serenity in high places

Yale College term bill to rise by 5% next year

Researchers report promising results in study . . .

Study of muscles yields clues about genetic causes of diabetes

Works pay tribute to 'lost culture' of Native Americans

Wasserman to women science students: 'Become a consumer of jobs'

Biostatistician elected fellow of statistical association

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes