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Robert L Brooks

The Fundamentals of Atomic and Molecular Physics is intended as an introduction to the field for advanced undergraduates who have taken quantum mechanics. Each chapter builds upon the previous, using the same tools and methods throughout. As the students progress through the book, their ability to use these tools will steadily increase, along with their confidence in their efficacy. The book treats the two-electron atom as the simplest example of the many-electron atom—as opposed to using techniques that are not applicable to many-electron atoms—so that it is unnecessary to develop additional equations when turning to multielectron atoms, such as carbon. External fields are treated using both perturbation theory and direct diagonalization and spontaneous emission is developed from first principles. Only diatomic molecules are considered with the hydrogen molecular ion and neutral molecule treated in some detail. This comprehensive coverage of the quantum mechanics of complex atoms and simple diatomic molecules, developed from the very basic components, is extremely useful for students considering graduate studies in any area of physics.

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Steve Jones

"Charles Darwin's masterpiece, The Origin of Species, is probably the best-known, least-read book. Unquestionably one of the most important achievements of the millennium, the book caused a sensation when it was published in 1859, because it forced mankind to see itself as part of the animal world - a notion that hundreds of millions still deny. Writing as "Darwin's ghost," the well-known geneticist Steve Jones has drawn on our ever-expanding scientific knowledge and the brilliant logic set out in The Origin to restate evolution's case for the twenty-first century." "Using contemporary examples - the AIDS virus, the rules of the American Kennel Club, the sheep who never forget a face and the garbage that floats in the Pacific - he shows the power and immediacy of Darwin's great argument."--BOOK JACKET.

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Bill Green

"You could die looking into such blueness," a scientist once said of Antarctica's Dry Valley lakes. Water, Ice and Stone is Bill Green's remarkable account of the time he spent probing the blueness of these lakes, expertly analyzing their chemistry and humbly listening to their stories of nature's unity. Permanently covered by as much as twelve feet of ice, these are the most isolated lakes in the world - not a single fish darts through their waters, not one tree or plant has ever taken root on their rocky shores. Yet for geologists and geochemists like Green, the lakes contain a rich historical narrative of the earth's development. In the lakes he finds answers that can be expressed in the calibrated and quantified language of research, and he finds questions that can never be answered, only pondered in the memories and musings awakened by the beauty and brutality of a lonely, dangerous land. We experience with him something of this awe and wonder - the inspiration for all scientific inquiry.

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Douglas R. Weiner

Models of Nature studies the early and turbulent years of the Soviet conservation movement from the October Revolution to the mid-1930s - Lenin's rule to the rise of Stalin. This new edition includes an afterword by the author that reflects upon the study's impact and discusses advances in the field since the book was first published.