Gareth Jones Books

The book I ordered for a Christmas gift was received on time and was in perfect shape.

I hate number theory. Number theory is like the cement on your driveway. Real and Complex analysis are the Porsche and Ferrari you drive home every night. However, this is a great book, possibly the clearest and well written of books on the subject - it helped me tremendously with Rudin and Brown and Churchill. I still hate number theory.

I bought this book while studying cryptography, a field that relies heavily on Number Theory for inspiration and from which it draws many, if not most, of its constructions. Most books on Cryptography summarily relegate the relevant number-theoretic aspects to short appendices that fail to build any intuition about what is going on. This book delivers precisely what is missing: a very readable, easily accessible introduction to the main topics of number theory that leaves the reader with a much better idea of how everything fits together. The book is very well suited for self-study, and includes answers to all exercises.

It should be noted, though, that the book does not address any of the computational aspects of Number Theory that are so dear to Cryptography (e.g it's easy to take square roots mod p if p is prime, hard to take square roots mod pq unless you know p,q). This, however, does not reduce its usefulness, since such results become very easy to absorb once one has a decent understanding of number theory and its workings. To fill the computational gaps, I would suggest Dana Angluin's "Lecture Notes on the Complexity of Some Problems in Number Theory" which are freely available on the web (the 2001 LaTeX'ed version)

Ever since my undergraduate days aeons ago, I have always had an aversion to any number theory, but Jones and Jones have changed my mind completely. In the last year, I came across a few articles that made me want to learn more about the topic, but wasn't sure where to start, as I wanted a book that had proofs that I could follow, and yet also gave me some motivation to dive into more complicated mathematics such as elliptic curves. Elementary Number Theory fit the bill perfectly and has served as a wonderful introduction to the subject that I could follow and enjoy.

This book is the perfect blend of text and formulae for me, and seems an excellent combination of rigour and looseness, always trying to keep a steady pace for the reader without bogging down in pedantic details that are irrelevant to any but the most fastidious of readers. At the same time, the authors also ensure that the reader gains an appreciation of actually proving theorems about numbers, instead of relying on mere intuition or hunches.

As mentioned by other reviews here, the authors have included complete solutions to all of the exercises, which are sprinkled throughout each chapter, as well as at the end of each chapter. This is a welcome change to so many math texts that have "exercises left to the reader," and has been a requirement for me when reading a text in an unfamiliar subject. The exercises are selected appropriately to the content of the chapters and I found them to be a welcome complement to the rest of the book.

In addition, the book discusses applications of number theory to cryptography in a very readable fashion, with any additional mathematics required for the book (in this case some simple group theory and analysis) in two appendices. A book on number theory would also be incomplete without at least a brief discussion of Andrew Wiles and Fermat's Last Theorem. Of course, Elementary Number Theory steps up to the plate appropriately and gives an overview of the history of the theorem and a (necessarily) thin overview of Wiles' proof.

I think, however, one of the best features of the book is that Jones and Jones have attempted to make the text very readable, in the sense that you could sit in a bath and enjoy part of a chapter without any trouble. I have always enjoyed reading mathematics without pen and paper handy, mainly because it improves my memory and visualization when working through problems, and this text helps greatly in that regard. They do not go for the obscure, and realize that the people who are reading this text are doing so for the first time (hence the title) and will not be overly impressed if the authors had chosen to blind us with their brilliance. The authors understand that we are mere mortals with busy lives, and appreciate a smoothly flowing textbook without having to stumble through unique and cryptic notation or a difficult proof without any explanation.

This book presumes so little of the reader that anyone can start learning number theory using this book. There are plenty of exercises and all of them have solutions. All the major topics are covered, and in a fashion and pace that allows you to grasp the underlying concepts. This book maintains accessibility and quality throughout. Highly recommended, particularly for beginners.

Good text book, presents material clearly and simplisticaly but effectively gets the point across and makes it easy to learn and retain.

This book was perfect for the class I was taking. It was new, no marks, and very informative.

Good text book, presents material clearly and simplisticaly but effectively gets the point across and makes it easy to learn and retain.

This book was perfect for the class I was taking. It was new, no marks, and very informative.

What a delight there is in reading this book. Rev. Jones's writing style has the sound of a personal conversation, sincere and informed, yet sprinkled with wit and charm. (As I had the pleasure of meeting this Welsh minister last May in Annapolis, I can attest to these attributes in the person whose hand I shook and sparkling eyes I appreciated!)

This book you can have "both ways." You can take is as a general read, picking up on parts of the Old Testament that have always fascinated or intrigued you. Or, you can read it paragraph by paragraph in order to more fully absorb the scholarship Rev. Jones offers.

What's offered here works well in study groups, too.

It doesn't matter that this is a case studies book. Though you don't anything about strategy, you will learn strategy through an entertaining reading. It shows a lot of cases studies, with detailed information about the strategies followed by some industries: Computers, Japanese Bear, Automotive, etc.

It's a great choice!

In this consise book, Jones accomplishes nearly all of his intended goals- - and perhaps a few goals he didn't intend on as well. First, "Clones- -Clowns of Technology" is written by a scientist, but it doesn't read like one. The reader does not get lost in a maze of complicated ideas, excess verbiage, or overblown vocabulary terms. The writing style of Jones is clear and concise- - almost cryptic at times. His refusal to 'waste words' allows the reader to move quickly through the complex tertiary problems associated with cloning to get to the core elements. Each chapter ends with discussion questions for 'group analysis'. Jones' precise writing style makes the reading of this book a truly delightful 'research experience' for any individual reader or group of readers. The book is also extremely balanced. The particular worldview that Jones has is expressed plainly in the text, but at times he seems to almost bend over backwards to present his opponents viewpoints and/or the 'contrary scenerio'. This gives the overall weight of the book a decidedly unbiased bent.
The medical and ethical challenges that cloning faces is enormous. Jones does an expert job of analyzing both the ethical and the scientific aspects of cloning individually and corporately. He recognizes that these two points of view must be reconciled before a scientific advance such as cloning is to proceed.

I read this book after attending a lecture by Jones, and I can safely say it is an inspiration for anyone tired of the dry and superficial treatments of thinkers in this era. It is a good supplement to Gertrude Himmelfarb's Idea of Poverty simply because it takes seriously the proposals which Himmelfarb marginalizes as "utopian". Jones reexamines the legacy of Adam Smith in the context of the relatively recent controversy surrounding Smith's importance outside of the canon of classical political economics. The work examines the proposals of Condorcet and Paine as influenced by Smith, and concludes that their radical proposals were perhaps more mainstream and accepted at the time than previous historians thought. An entertaining read for anyone who wishes to grapple with the current problem of poverty in a historical light.

It is very disappointing to see so little information provided by the publisher on this book, not even a table of contents. The time has come for Amazon to demand a higher standard of due diligence by publishers.

For those who wish to immerse themselves on the pros and cons of the debate over poverty, this is an essential intellectual foundation to the current work by Jeffrey Sachs who is both the advisor to the Secretary General of the UN on the Millennium project, and the head of the Columbia Earth Institute.

Thomas Jefferson said that "A Nation's best defense is an educated citizenry." He probably would have agreed to amend that to say an educated, healthy citizenry able to work. A historical appreciation of the phrase "pursuit of happiness" suggests that Jefferson actually meant, in lieu of selfish pleasure, the pursuit of self- actualization.

This book completes a circle with C. K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) which suggests that there is a four trillion a year marketplace among the five billion poorest, and that unleashing their entrepreneurial initiative could save the world, and the definitive work by Jeffrey Sachs, on how can end poverty for $70 per year per person.

is this a classic text that will be of particular intrest to scholars of the history of utopian socialism and feminism and political thought in general? probably. is charles fourier one of the most complex, mind boggling, idiosyncratic thinkers and writers of all time? i think so. what is particularly intresting to me about this book though? here it is: the idea that civilization is an abomination responsible for the decrepit state of our planet and that fourier had single handedly discovered the process by which we will be able to bring the universe into harmony through a social revolution that will align the planets and turn the ocean into a tastey beverage and will create an aurora that will attach itself to the north pole that will raise the temperature of the northern lattitudes enough to make them comfortable to humans and also that any animals that dont help humans will be replaced by anti versions of these animals such as the anti-shark that will catch fish for us and anti-hippopotomi that will pull our boats around for us and anti-lions (sevral times larger than normal lions) that will be capable of carrying several passangers at a time to where ever they want to go at increadibly high speeds. all this was conceived in the late 1700's. truly amazing. the stuff about his social structure ideas is very interesting too whether you are interested in social theory or not.

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business Review. Presumably two of the criteria for determining which articles to include are (a) frequency of reprint requests and (b) significance of the article in relation to the author(s)'s subsequent work. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarded experts on the given subject. All of the volumes have been carefully edited. An Executive Summary introduces each selection. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with eight previously published articles which, from a variety of perspectives, examine an especially important business subject: How to achieve breakthrough leadership. In the first, Harris Collingwood shares leaders' remembrances of moments and others who have shaped them. The core concepts in the next article, "Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance," were later developed in several books co-authored by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Collingwood then reappears as co-moderator with Julia Kirby of a roundtable discussion during which six experts (e.g. Frances Hesselbein who is chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation and Frederick Smith who is chairman and CEO of FedEx. For me, one of the most thought-provoking articles is the one in which Richard S. Tedlow explains why and how "a handful of simple principles" followed by seven "titans of industry" (i.e. Carnegie, Eastman, Ford, Noyce, Revson, Walton, and Watson, Sr.) can also be applied by others to achieve breakthrough results. The material in the remaining five articles is also worthy careful consideration. Of course, the value of each article will largely be determined by its reader's own interests and (especially) needs.

I have read and reviewed almost all of the volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." This is one of the best but the same benefits are offered by all of the others: Cutting-edge ideas which can have the greatest impact for about 30% of the cost, were the articles ordered separately as reprints. Better yet, they are grouped by common business topic but their authors approach that topic from significantly different perspectives. Most executives should own and then read all of the volumes in this series. Once having done so, my guess is that they will frequently return to specific articles for guidance whenever an unexpected problem or opportunity appears. hence the importance of highlighting key passages. Hence the importance of the Executive Summary for each article in each volume. And hence the importance of having direct and convenient access.