The Jewelry Design Source Book
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • A fairly good historical reference
The Jewelry Design Source Book
Patricia Bayer , Vivienne Becker , and Helen Crave
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Sculpture | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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JewelryJewelry | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
JewelryJewelry | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0442238282

Book Description

An illustrated history of classic jewelry organized chronologically from 2500 B.C. through today. Chapters include Medieval Craftsmen, Renaissance and Baroque, Romanticism, Victoriana, Art Deco, and more. Beautifully photographed, with more than 400 illustrations . A great reference for students of design and collectors.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars A fairly good historical reference.......2000-04-05

This is a good book for any jewelry designer who wishes to research jewelry trends through history. It is a very useful guide for a historical overview of jewelry. For those more interested in detailed information on a particular time period though I would reccomend a book more specific the time period of intrest. With that in mind, I thought that this book was very well done. The pictures are large and clear, enabling a good view of details. The accompanying text is also very informative for the given time periods.
A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
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    A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs

    Manufacturer: Braziller, New York
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover
    ASIN: B000HCJ76O
    A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
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      A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
      Clarence P. Hornung
      Manufacturer: Braziller
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover
      ASIN: B000NUSRSE
      A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
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        A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
        Clarence P. Hornung
        Manufacturer: Gramercy
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

        Decorative ArtsDecorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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        1. Collecting Victorian Jewelry: Identification And Price Guide Collecting Victorian Jewelry: Identification And Price Guide

        ASIN: 051767579X
        Release Date: 1989-08-02
        A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs: Containing over 3800 Engravings of Victorian Americana, Including Jewelry, Silverware, Clocks, Cutler (Da Capo Paperback)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs: Containing over 3800 Engravings of Victorian Americana, Including Jewelry, Silverware, Clocks, Cutler (Da Capo Paperback)

          Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

          Decorative ArtsDecorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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          AmericanaAmericana | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
          JewelryJewelry | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
          ASIN: 0306800705
          The Jewelry Design Source Book
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            The Jewelry Design Source Book
            Patricia; BECKER,Vivienne; CRAVEN,Helen BAYER
            Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback
            ASIN: B000RJMLT2
            Jewelry Design Source Book
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Jewelry Design Source Book
              Scarisbrick Diana
              Manufacturer: Knickerbocker Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback
              ASIN: B000UDYW3S
              A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
                Clarence P. Hornung
                Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback
                ASIN: B000KV7M64
                A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  A Source Book of Antiques and Jewelry Designs
                  Clarence P. Hornung
                  Manufacturer: Braziller, New York
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover
                  ASIN: B000TK6JCO

                  Thermal Properties and Temperature-Related Behavior of Rock/Fluid Systems
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                    Thermal Properties and Temperature-Related Behavior of Rock/Fluid Systems
                    Wilbur H. Somerton
                    Manufacturer: Elsevier Publishing Company
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover

                    GeneralGeneral | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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                    PetrologyPetrology | Geology | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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                    ASIN: 0444890017

                    Book Description

                    This book brings together for the first time the results of research on the thermal properties and temperature-related behavior of rocks with their contained fluids, under subsurface environmental conditions. These data are of increasing importance with increased application of underground processes involving high temperature and, in some cases, low temperature environments. Some of the important processes are described in which thermal data are needed. Chapters deal with thermal properties of rocks, including heat capacities, thermal conductivities and thermal diffusivities under conditions simulating subsurface environments. Discussion about the difficulty in measuring thermal properties of rock/fluid systems is included along with newly-developed models for predicting thermal properties from more-easily measured properties. The effects of thermal reactions in rocks, differential thermal expansion, and thermal alterations are discussed in sep

                    Path Integrals and Quantum Anomalies (The International Series of Monographs on Physics)
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                      Path Integrals and Quantum Anomalies (The International Series of Monographs on Physics)
                      Kazuo Fujikawa , and Hiroshi Suzuki
                      Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover

                      GeneralGeneral | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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                      ASIN: 0198529139

                      Book Description

                      The Feynman path integrals are becoming increasingly important in the applications of quantum mechanics and field theory. The path integral formulation of quantum anomalies, i.e. the quantum breaking of certain symmetries, can now cover all the known quantum anomalies in a coherent manner. In this book the authors provide an introduction to the path integral method in quantum field theory and its applications to the analyses of quantum anomalies. No previous knowledge of field theory beyond the advanced undergraduate quantum mechanics is assumed. The book provides the first coherent introductory treatment of the path integral formulation of chiral and Weyl anomalies, with applications to gauge theory in two and four dimensions, conformal field theory and string theory. Explicit and elementary path integral calculations of most of the quantum anomalies covered are given. The conceptual basis of the path integral bosonization in two-dimensional theory, which may have applications to condensed matter theory, for example, is clarified. The book also covers the recent interesting developments in the treatment of fermions and chiral anomalies in lattice gauge theory.
                      Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory (International Series of Monographs on Physics)
                      Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                      • A good overview
                      Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory (International Series of Monographs on Physics)
                      Reinhold A. Bertlmann
                      Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Paperback

                      GeneralGeneral | Science | Subjects | Books
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                      ASIN: 0198507623

                      Book Description

                      An anomaly is the failure of classical symmetry to survive the process of quantization and regularization. The study of anomalies is the key to a deeper understanding of quantum field theory and has played an increasingly important role in the theory over the past 20 years. This text presents all the different aspects of the study of anomalies in an accessible and self-contained way. Much emphasis is now being placed on the formulation of the theory using the mathematical ideas of differential geometry and topology. This approach is followed here, and the derivations and calculations are given explicitly as an aid to students. Topics discussed include the relevant ideas from differential geometry and topology and the application of these paths (path integrals, differential forms, homotopy operators, etc.) to the study of anomalies. Chapters are devoted to abelian and nonabelian anomalies, consistent and covariant anomalies, and gravitational anomalies. The comprehensive overview of the theory presented in this book will be useful to both students and researchers.

                      Customer Reviews:

                      4 out of 5 stars A good overview.......2003-02-08

                      An understanding of quantum field theory cannot be done without the consideration of anomalies. The occurrence of anomalies in quantum field theory is relatively new, if compared with the time period that the subject has been around. This book gives an excellent overview of anomalies and is suitable for those who have a background in quantum field theory. Mathematicians may also find it of great interest, even though their standards of rigour may not always be respected in the book. The study of anomalies will entail also a background in mathematics that may not be acquired by a reader who has taken a prior course in quantum field theory. Hence the author spends the first part of the book outlining the mathematics needed, such as differential geometry, homotopy theory, de Rham cohomology, Lie groups, and fiber bundles. With the presence of this level of mathematics, one can say indeed that a course in quantum field theory in the 21st century is very different from one just 20 years ago.

                      The author gives a motivation for the subject in the introduction to the book. He describes the origin of anomalies as the violation of a classically conserved current, which for gauge theories signals the breakdown of gauge symmetry, leading to an inconsistent theory. The elimination of anomalies then leads to a tightly constrained theory, and leads to physical predictions, such as the top quark. The author's concern in the book is the axial- or chiral anomaly that corresponds to an axial- or chiral fermion current.

                      Even though it would be rare these days to find a beginning student of quantum field theory who had learned it without the consideration of path integrals, the author gives an overview of them in chapter 3 of the book. This chapter also includes a thorough discussion of the Faddeev-Popov method in non-Abelian gauge theories. One can view this as a method of "Lagrange multipliers" in quantum field theory, with the famous Faddeev-Popov ghosts playing the role of these multipliers. The author does a fine job of discussing why they are so important for the physics of quantum field theory, such as preserving the unitarity of the S-matrix and the proof of Ward identities.

                      The study of anomalies begins in detail in chapter 4. The author discusses the origin of the Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly and why the various strategies of renormalization must lead to the same result. That radiative corrections or contributions from higher order perturbation theory will not change the nature of the anomaly is the statement of the Adler-Bardeen theorem, but the author does not prove this theorem. The author also relates the chiral anomaly to dispersion relations in the context of 2-dimensional quantum electrodynamics, and the connection of anomalies to the Dirac sea via the study of the Schwinger model of 2-dimensional quantum electrodynamics on a cylinder. The experimental consequences of anomalies are discussed by studying the decay of the neutral pion into two photons. A calculation of the transition amplitude for this decay using the LSZ reduction formula yields zero, and so anomalies are brought in force the decay rate to be in agreement with the experimental value. Lastly, the author discusses the non-Abelian anomaly in the last part of the chapter.

                      Chapter 5 studies anomalies in the context of path integrals, via the methods of Fujikawa, arising as they do in the consideration of the transformation properties of the path integral measure. What is most interesting about this discussion is the author's statment of an "uncertainty principle", namely that one cannot impose gauge and chiral symmetry simultaneously, due to the noncommutation of the Dirac operator and the gamma-five matrix. In addition, the author shows in detail the connection between the zeta function and the Fujikawa procedure.

                      After a brief review of differential forms in chapter 6, the author studies the relation of anomalies to the Chern-Simons form in chapter 7. The transgression formula, which shows that the difference of two invariant polynomials is exact, is proven because of its central role in the rest of the book. Using a notion of a "homotopy derivation", the first-order variaton of the Chern-Simons form is calculated and shown to give an anomaly formula.

                      The derivation of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition is the main subject of chapter 7. This condition determines the anomaly, in that any solution of it that is not a gauge variation of a local functional is an anomaly, and is derived via the BRS formalism. The Wess-Zumino consistency condition is then shown to to correspond to a cocycle condition in the space of gauge potentials, and more generally in the context of the cohomology of Lie algebras.

                      The author derives, from a stricly mathematical viewpoint, the Stora-Zumino descent equations in chapter 8, which show that a singlet anomaly in even dimensions determines the non-Abelian anomaly in two dimensons less.

                      The "covariant" anomaly is discussed in chapter 10, which as the name implies transforms covariantly, unlike the consistent ("Bardeen") anomaly considered so far. Noting that they arise from two different regularization schemes, the author then relates them via the Bardeen-Zumino polynomial.

                      The most interesting chapter is the next one, which discusses the index theory of anomalies. Having very important mathematical connections, the presentation is very understandable but not rigorous mathematically, due to the use of the path integral. The author shows that anomalies are intimately connected with the topology of gauge theories, in particular the non-Abelian anomaly characterizes the nontrivial topology of the determinant bundle over the 2-sphere X 2n-sphere.

                      Gravitational anomalies are the subject of the last chapter, wherein gauge transformations are the coordinate and Lorentz transformations. The work in preceeding chapters proceeds here without too much change, and the reader can see the fermionic contribution to the occurrence of anomalies, and the author again uses the BRS formalism to derive the descent equations.
                      Algebraic Renormalization: Perturbative Renormalization, Symmetries and Anomalies (Lecture Notes in Physics New Series M)
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                        Algebraic Renormalization: Perturbative Renormalization, Symmetries and Anomalies (Lecture Notes in Physics New Series M)
                        Olivier Piguet , and Silvio P. Sorella
                        Manufacturer: Springer
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Hardcover

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                        Waves & Wave MechanicsWaves & Wave Mechanics | Physics | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: 354059115X

                        Book Description

                        This book provides a pedagogical and self-contained introduction to the algebraic method of renormalization in perturbative quantum field theory. This method is based on general theorems of renormalization, in particular on the Quantum Action Principle. It allows us to treat the problems of the renormalizability and the anomalies of models with local or global symmetries in terms of the algebraic properties of classical field polynomials. Several examples (e.g. topological models) are considered in some detail. One of the main advantages of this method, beyond its simplicity, is its great power, because no particular subtraction or regularization scheme preserving the symmetries of the problem is a priori required.
                        Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory: Cancellation of Anomalies in D Equals 10 Supergravity (Leuven Notes in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics, Volume 3: Series B: Theoretical Particle Physics)
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                          Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory: Cancellation of Anomalies in D Equals 10 Supergravity (Leuven Notes in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics, Volume 3: Series B: Theoretical Particle Physics)
                          P.Van Nieuwenhuizen
                          Manufacturer: Leuven Press
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback

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                          ASIN: 9061863457
                          Quantum Topology and Global Anomalies (Advanced Series in Mathematical Physics, Vol 23)
                          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                          • A good overview
                          Quantum Topology and Global Anomalies (Advanced Series in Mathematical Physics, Vol 23)
                          Randy A. Baadhio
                          Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Hardcover

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                          General GeometryGeneral Geometry | Geometry & Topology | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books
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                          ASIN: 9810227264

                          Book Description

                          Anomalies are ubiquitous features in quantum field theories. They can ruin the consistency of such theories and put significant restrictions on their viability, especially in dimensions higher than four. Global gauge and gravitational anomalies are to date, one of the scant powerful and probing tools available to physicists in the pursuit of uniqueness.

                          This monograph is one of the very few that specializes in the study of global anomalies in quantum field theories. A discussion of various issues associated to three dimensional physics - the Chern-Simons-Witten theories - widen the scope of this book. Topics discussed here comprises: the ongoing quest for three-manifolds invariant, the role of the mapping class groups in (a) the detection and cancellation of global anomalies, (b) formulating three-manifolds invariant; the geometric quantization of Chern-Simons-Witten theories; deformation quantization; study of chiral and gravitational anomalies; anomalies and the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer Index theorem; exotic spheres; global gravitational anomalies in some six and ten dimensional supergravity and superstring theories, with an additional case study of Witten SU(2) Global Gauge Anomalies.

                          In addition, five chapters lay out the mathematical basis for a thorough use of the topics above. One chapter focuses on the relationship between Teichmuller spaces, moduli spaces and mapping class groups. Another chapter is devoted to mapping class groups and arithmetic groups. Gauge theories on Riemann surfaces are studies in well over two chapters, the first one centered on the theory of bundles and the second on connections.

                          Many readers will find this a useful book, especially theoretical physicists and mathematicians. The material presented here will be of interest to both the experts who will find complete, detailed and precise descriptions of important topics of current interest in mathematical physics, and to students and newcomers to the field, who will appreciate the vast amount of information provided here, especially on global anomalies.

                          Customer Reviews:

                          4 out of 5 stars A good overview.......2003-04-05

                          It is now a tautology that physics and mathematics are intertwined to a degree that goes far beyond saying merely that physics makes use of various results in mathematics. The latter has been going on ever since people have been doing physics. Now though ideas from physics have been finding applications in mathematics, and many exciting results in mathematics have appeared in the last twenty years due to this. This book is a brief overview of some of these at the time of publication, which is called 'topological quantum field theory' or 'quantum topology'.

                          The author introduces chapter 1 as a quest for obtaining invariants of 3-manifolds. Noting that the Euler characteristic is zero for all closed 3-manifolds, he then looks at hyperbolic 3-manifolds, and studies the volume-, Chern-Simons-, and the eta-invariants of these. The volume invariant is not fine enough as there exist non-homeomorphic hyperbolic 3-manifolds with equal volumes. The Chern-Simons invariant is the integral of the pullback of a 3-form on the (oriented) frame bundle of the manifold. The author quotes, but does not prove the Meyerhoff-Ruberman theorem, which gives criteria under which hyperbolic 3-manifolds with equal volumes have different Chern-Simons invariants. The eta-invariant involves eigenvalues of the Laplace operator and is given by the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer formula. There exists hyperbolic 3-manifolds with equal Chern-Simons invariants but different eta-invariants, but the author does not discuss examples. The author then summarizes briefly the quantum field-theoretic formulation of the Chern-Simons invariant, which, because of the problems with a rigorous foundation for functional integration, gives readers their first taste of 'physical mathematics'. He also discusses briefly the 'mutant' manifolds which are not distinguishable by any of these invariants, and conjectures that a more in-depth understanding of the 3-D mapping class group will allow finer invariants.

                          Chapter 2 is then an introduction to how to obtain 3-manifold invariants using the mapping class group using the holonomy of the Knizhink-Zamolodchikov monodromy equation and Moore-Seiberg conformal field theory. The 3-manifolds are required to have Heegaard decompositions, and the (Kohno) formula for the invariant involves a homomorphism from the mapping class group of a Riemann surface with a certain genus to the group of isotopy classes of orientation preserving self-diffeomorphisms.

                          Chapter 3 is an introduction to the Teichmuller and moduli spaces. The quotient group of Teichmuller space modulo the action of the mapping class group is moduli space. The description of Teichmuller space in terms of Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates is given, and the author shows how to describe the Deligne-Mumford compactification using these coordinates. He also shows the relation between the homologies of the moduli space and the mapping class group.

                          Chapter 4 is an overview of to what extent mapping class groups act like arithmetic groups. The author proves that the mapping class group cannot be arithmetic when the genus is greater than or equal to 3. He also addresses the question as the stability of the homology of mapping class group as the genus gets larger. He states, but does not prove, Harer's theorem, which says that the kth-homology group is independent of the genus g if g is greater than or equal to 3k + 1.

                          Chapter 5 is very interesting, in that it shows how to view Teichmuller space as a symplectic manifold, this being done via the Weil-Petersson form. He uses this to prove that the Deligne-Mumford compactification is projective.

                          Chapters 6 and 7 are quick reviews of gauge theories on Riemann surfaces. Chapter 8 then considers the geometric quantization of Chern-Simon-Witten theories. The presentation of this is excellent because the reader can see clearly the reason for employing the "Kahler polarization", which seems mysterious when first encountered. The U(1) (torus case) for geometric quantization is given before taking on the non-Abelian case.

                          The author finally gets to the connection with anomalies in chapter 9, wherein he discusses deformation quantization, mostly in relation to his own work. Global anomalies are viewed as being induced by an obstruction to patching a local deformation "quantizable *-product" to a global *-product. Physicists well-versed in quantum gauge theories will understand fully the appearance of the Jacobi identity here and its role in inducing global anomalies. The Wess-Zumino consistency conditions are discussed here also.

                          Things get more in touch with physics in chapter 10, wherein the author discusses the famous chiral and gravitational anomalies. The Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism in heterotic superstring theory is discussed in detail. These results are connected to index theorems in the next chapter, where the author also introduces the reader to characteristic classes. The geometric interpretation of anomalies as being the curvature and holonomy of the connection in the determinant bundle is readily apparent. In addition, the reader can see the origin of the famous Fujikawa change of measure in the path integral for the effective action of a massless Dirac fermion in Euclidean space of even dimension.

                          The author goes on to give in his words an exhaustive account of global anomalies in chapter 12. Arising because of the failure of the symmetries of the full diffeomorphism group to be respected after quantization, the author differentiates between global gauge and gravitational anomalies, and the connection of the latter with the mapping class group. Chapter 13 then concentrates more on this connection, and with the connection to Chern-Simons-Witten theories. The discussion revolves around 3-dimensional handlebodies and due to this connection with topology is very interesting. The role of exotic differentiable structures in anomalies is made readily apparent.

                          The last chapter of the book is written by the topologist Louis Kauffman and overviews the results from the theory of characteristic classes needed for a study of exotic spheres. The existence of exotic structures is fascinating but their role (outside of anomaly detection) in physics still remains to be seen.
                          Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory
                          Average customer rating: Not rated
                            Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory
                            Reinhold A. Bertlmann
                            Manufacturer: Oxford University Press(UK)
                            ProductGroup: Book
                            Binding: Paperback
                            ASIN: B000OKW3LK
                            Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory
                            Average customer rating: Not rated
                              Anomalies in Quantum Field Theory
                              Reinhold A. Bertlmann
                              Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr 01/1//2000
                              ProductGroup: Book
                              Binding: Paperback
                              ASIN: B000N5PONK
                              Anomalies, Phases, Defects...Ferrara, Jun, 1989 (Monographs and Textbooks in Physical Science Lecture Notes)
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                                Anomalies, Phases, Defects...Ferrara, Jun, 1989 (Monographs and Textbooks in Physical Science Lecture Notes)
                                M. Bregola , and G. Marmo
                                Manufacturer: Amer Inst of Physics
                                ProductGroup: Book
                                Binding: Paperback

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                                ASIN: 8870882365
                                Conformal Field Theory Anomalies and Superstrings: Proceedings of the First Asia Pacific Workshop on High Energy Physics Singapore 21-27 June 1987
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                                  Conformal Field Theory Anomalies and Superstrings: Proceedings of the First Asia Pacific Workshop on High Energy Physics Singapore 21-27 June 1987
                                  B. E. Baaquie , C. K. Chew , C. H. Oh , and K. K. Phus
                                  Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
                                  ProductGroup: Book
                                  Binding: Hardcover

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                                  ASIN: 9971504456

                                  Digging up Donald
                                  Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
                                  • "It was biscuits at ten paces."
                                  • A wonderful, quirky excursion
                                  • A Great Read !
                                  • Best thing on my to-read stack!
                                  • Offbeat, Strange, and Wonderful
                                  Digging up Donald
                                  Steven Pirie
                                  Manufacturer: Immanion Press/Magalithica Books
                                  ProductGroup: Book
                                  Binding: Hardcover

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                                  ASIN: 1904853110

                                  Book Description

                                  It's the end of the world in Mudcaster, and the mother is beset by family troubles - Maureen's unborn babies have been stolen by demons in the night, and Robert has taken to playing with dead Uncle Norman. The father is talking to his pot plants, again, which wouldn't be so bad had the mother not heard them answering back.

                                  In dark times, the mother knows that only by drawing the family together, the living and the dead, may they overcome the trials of Ending. Together they are strong; divided they are weak.

                                  Aunt Maude is easy to find, she was cremated just the year before. But others, like Cousin Hilderbrand, who had his brain confiscated by medical science, before he'd finished with it some said, prove more difficult. The real ancients are little more than rumours in their boxes. The family must deal with troublesome dead, demons, and worse still - the living - in order to save the day.

                                  Digging up Donald is a gentle comedy - no demons were harmed in its writing.

                                  Customer Reviews:

                                  4 out of 5 stars "It was biscuits at ten paces.".......2005-07-08

                                  I knew, from the moment I read that opening sentence, that I was in for a thoroughly enjoyable experience with "Digging Up Donald".

                                  I'd seen the book at Lunacon in March, and, to my regret, hadn't bought it (being a Donald, I was curious as to why anyone would want to dig one of us up). Finally, curiosity and regret got the better of me, and I ordered it from this site.

                                  And loved it.

                                  I like my days sunny, my coffee strong, and my novels "Oh my god, I have to put this down because I'm laughing so hard" humourous. And Pirie certainly delivers. From the quirky cast of characters, to the well developed village life, and through one of the more creative visions of the Afterlife in print, he handles a large and disparate group of elements deftly, never letting the lunacy get out of hand, but keeping it nicely balanced straight through. But the real clincher is Pirie's voice and use of language. One pictures him sitting in a pub, surrounded by his chums, and simply regaling them with the story, so individualistic is his turn of phrase. It's his story telling, more than the 'end of the millenium and impending Armageddon' storyline, which makes this novel an absolute delight.

                                  And that's brilliant. Because that means there will be more stories forthcoming from this man, and given that this is a first novel, things will only get better.

                                  Sign me up. And I'll take a custard cream, please.

                                  5 out of 5 stars A wonderful, quirky excursion.......2005-05-14

                                  Author Steven Pirie has penned a truly wonderful story in DIGGING UP DONALD. Comparisons to Pratchett and others are apt due to the style of humor (which is singularly British in my mind, though I might add Americans Tim Powers and James P. Blaylock as others who invite comparison), but Pirie's voice is all his own. The humor ranges from subtle to laugh-out-loud funny, and is always infectious. Pirie's skill in expostion brings to life as peculiar and fascinating a cast of characters as you're likely to find anywhere, with the forces of 'good' being as odd as those of 'evil,' though the former are delightfully so whereas the latter are sinister. In the midst of raising the dead and saving the world from demonic forces, Pirie crafts an honest and effective romance between his young protagonist Robert and a girl named Joan, daughter of one of Robert's adversaries.

                                  I highly recommend this book.

                                  5 out of 5 stars A Great Read !.......2005-02-05

                                  I've never visited an English village the likes of Mudcaster, but fantasy writer Steven Pirie has woven such a vivid and detailed tapestry of a tale in Digging Up Donald, I feel as if I was there when the Richards family, both dead and living, joined forces to save the world from the demonic machinations of the possessed Reverend Likewise and his evil minion, Curate Dodds.

                                  The story is told from the perspective of young Robert Richards. Charged by The Mother to find and assemble every family member against an unthinkable doom, he embarks on a rite-of-passage mission, finding love along the way and traveling literally to hell and back.

                                  While all this sounds quite serious, the tone of the story is anything but. Pirie has been likened to writer Terry Pratchett in terms of his humorous fantasy style, and I will add to that a comparison with Tom Holt and Douglas Adams. I've read few other books that incorporate such imaginative witticisms, such gently twisted dark satire, as Digging Up Donald.

                                  The plot is pleasingly intricate but even more compelling are the characters. The cast of Digging Up Donald are a collection of weirdly original folk - some human, some not; some living, some not - that will delight. Take The Grandmother, for instance, an ancient witch living in a rusted bath chair, who ... " sends her teeth off on errands of their own, to forage for food or effect terrible revenge upon the neighbors' ankles." Or the deceased yet talkative Donald, to be found in the nether-worldly Parting Breath Pub, with hair like a tangle of worms and fetid breath leaking from the eye sockets. These unforgettable characters are saved from mere oddity by the empathy and warmth with which Pirie imbues them.

                                  The underlying theme of the book seems to be the triumph of young love and family solidarity over both the forces of evil and of progress. In our mundane reality, the world goes unthreatened by the domination of demon-possessed reverends, and there exist few if any tea and crumpet families like the Richards to confound their fiendish plots. But if you'd like to tread the imaginative trail of such a possibility, you'll have to read Digging Up Donald.

                                  5 out of 5 stars Best thing on my to-read stack!.......2004-10-17

                                  Let's just say that "Digging Up Donald" was on my stack with Bruce Sterling's "Distraction", China Mieville's "King Rat", Robert Rankin's "The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse", and Nathanael West's "A Cool Million", yet it was "Donald" I kept coming back to. The comparison to Terry Pratchett is most apt, not only in the style of humor, but also in the manner in which both authors build up a nice "what the hell is going on here?" tension.

                                  This book has a host of fine points: domineering matriarchs; a sex-crazed reverend with, shall we say, unwholesome intentions for the world; young love; not-quite-so-young lust; a bar fight in the land of the dead; high tea in hell . . . I'd say more, but a large part of the fun lies in figuring out Pirie's particular brand of mythology.

                                  My favorite part of the book was the well-developed relationship between young Robert and the reverend's daughter, Joan. These passages were surprisingly sensitive and insightful.

                                  All in all, a fine read!

                                  4 out of 5 stars Offbeat, Strange, and Wonderful.......2004-09-16

                                  Offbeat, Strange, and Wonderful...

                                  This book has got to be one of the most enjoyable yarns I've read in years. Fans of Terry Pratchett, rejoice! This book should be read by anyone who likes there humor just a little bit off. Highly enjoyable, and worth the price of admission.
                                  Digging up the past: Newspaper articles
                                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                                    Digging up the past: Newspaper articles
                                    Donald Brigham Ames
                                    ProductGroup: Book
                                    Binding: Unknown Binding
                                    ASIN: B0006RBDN0

                                    Books:

                                    1. The Louisville Guide
                                    2. The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, 4 volume set
                                    3. The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS)
                                    4. The Old Age Challenge to the Biomedical Model: Paradigm Strain and Health Policy (Society and Aging)
                                    5. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Listening for Life in the Cosmos (Wiley Science Editions)
                                    6. Things Precious & Wild: A Book of Nature Quotations
                                    7. Tourism in National Parks and Protected Areas: Planning and Management
                                    8. Transgenic Organisms: Biological and Social Implications
                                    9. Viral Regulatory Structures and Their Degeneracy (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Lecture Notes)
                                    10. Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering about the Body's Journey Through Life

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