A richly illustrated 2004 textbook on knot theory; minimal prerequisites but modern in style and content.

“Mr. Petit is the perfect teacher” in this fascinating, educational volume on knot-tying—an art and science that has held civilization together (The Wall Street Journal). Philippe Petit is known for his astounding feat of daring when, on August 7, 1974, he stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City. But beyond his balance, courage, and showmanship, there was one thing Petit had to be absolutely certain of—his knots. Without the confidence that his knots would hold, he never would have left the ground. In fact, while most of us don’t think about them beyond tying our shoelaces, the humble knot is crucial in countless contexts, from sailing to sports to industrial safety to art, agriculture, and more. In this truly unique book, Petit offers a guide to tying over sixty of his essential knots, with practical sketches illustrating his methods and clear tying instructions. Filled with photos in which special knots were used during spectacular high-wire walks, quirky knot trivia, personal anecdotes, helpful tips, magic tricks, and special tying challenges, Why Knot? will entertain and educate readers of all ages. “In reading Philippe’s book we are cogently reminded that without the ability to secure a rope, or tether a goat, or make fast the sheets of a galley, much of the civilization that we take for granted would disappear as easily as a slipknot in the hands of a Vegas conjuror.” —Sting, musician and activist “His descriptions are clear, he deploys humor frequently and he makes his points with anecdotes that are colorful and memorable. Explaining the purpose and creation of knots and thanks to those flawless drawings Mr. Petit earns perfect marks.” —The Wall Street Journal

When Ray Howard entered high school, he was determined to be a priest in the Catholic Church. After five years, he experienced his first bipolar episode and was forced to give up his vocation. After completing a master's program at Loyola University, he began his teaching career. With the aid of lithium, he was able to complete a master's degree in psychology and became a psychologist. He came out as gay after much soul-searching. In spite of being bipolar and gay, Ray was able to be successful in two careers and retire at sixty-seven. Upon his retirement, he began his writing career and not only wrote his autobiography, but also, he has written the screenplay for his novel. These are his first efforts in writing, but they won't be his last. He is now working on a book about his education in the liberal arts. He lives in Los Angeles and is working on making Knots Revisited into a full-length movie.

This book is an elementary introduction to knot theory. Unlike many other books on knot theory, this book has practically no prerequisites; it requires only basic plane and spatial Euclidean geometry but no knowledge of topology or group theory. It contains the first elementary proof of the existence of the Alexander polynomial of a knot or a link based on the Conway axioms, particularly the Conway skein relation. The book also contains an elementary exposition of the Jones polynomial, HOMFLY polynomial and Vassiliev knot invariants constructed using the Kontsevich integral. Additionally, there is a lecture introducing the braid group and shows its connection with knots and links. Other important features of the book are the large number of original illustrations, numerous exercises and the absence of any references in the first eleven lectures. The last two lectures differ from the first eleven: they comprise a sketch of non-elementary topics and a brief history of the subject, including many references.

Bringing a sociological perspective to state law and legal theory, this book uses Weber's work as the foundation for a critical reassessment of Hart's theory of law. It presents three central problems in the theory of law--the problem of perspective, the problem of reductionism, and the tendency to obscure relativity. These are addressed from the standpoint of a critical legal positivism. Ross teaches law at the Napier University School of Law in Edinburgh. Distributed by ISBS. c. Book News Inc.

The script is a story of overcoming obstacles of gigantic proportions to create a person of courage and convictions. I grew because of three distinct personal impediments to a normal child growing up. I was born an identical mirror twin. I became bipolar and gay as my life unfolded. In spite of these handicaps, I was able to be teacher for forty years and a psychotherapist for twenty-five years. It is a story of overcoming obstacles and becoming a productive member of society. The tragedy of my script was a theme of unrequited love I have never found a person who could accept me as I am. I am still looking and hope to finish my script with a positive outcome. Thank you for getting to know me and greatness I want to be my legacy before I die.

Knots are well known as symbols of moral relationships. This book develops an exciting new view of this otherwise taken-for-granted image and considers their metaphoric value in and for moral order. In chapters that focus on Japan, China, Europe, South America and in several Pacific Island societies, granular ethnography depicts how knots are deployed to express unity in daily and ritual embodiment, political authority and the cosmos, as well as in social thought. The volume will be of interest to anthropologists and other scholars concerned with metaphor and symbolism, material culture and technology.

Eros Revisited rethinks the desire for the other through philosophical, poetical, and psychological inquiry. Dr. Isaac B. Rosler draws from the works of Plato, Butler, and Derrida to explore the unreadability of Eros's enigma and the desire to address its mystery through assertive and noncontradictory discourse, resulting in the modern objectification of Eros into defined sexual orientations. With the rise of the concept of the Freudian ego, Eros is heterosexualized and the indeterminate love for the other falls into oblivion. In an attempt to revisit Eros as a metaphysical enigma, Dr. Rosler demonstrates the necessity of turning toward the mythical grounds of the desiring-ego and the roots of philosophical dialectic thinking. This book turns toward the withdrawing enigma of Eros toward the most radical aspect of friendship and love. Eros Revisited offers an examination of the oblivious metaphysical remains of Eros and will appeal to those interested in cultural studies and literary theory.

In this book, experts in different fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology present unique forms of knots which satisfy certain preassigned criteria relevant to a given field. They discuss the shapes of knotted magnetic flux lines, the forms of knotted arrangements of bistable chemical systems, the trajectories of knotted solitons, and the shapes of knots which can be tied using the shortest piece of elastic rope with a constant diameter.

Knot Projections offers a comprehensive overview of the latest methods in the study of this branch of topology, based on current research inspired by Arnold’s theory of plane curves, Viro’s quantization of the Arnold invariant, and Vassiliev’s theory of knots, among others. The presentation exploits the intuitiveness of knot projections to introduce the material to an audience without a prior background in topology, making the book suitable as a useful alternative to standard textbooks on the subject. However, the main aim is to serve as an introduction to an active research subject, and includes many open questions.