Physics/Mathematics

Every advanced undergraduate and graduate student of physics must master the concepts of vectors and vector analysis. Yet most textbooks cover this topic by merely repeating the introductory-level treatment based on a limited algebraic or analytic view of the subject.

By contrast, Geometrical Vectors introduces a more sophisticated approach, which not only brings together many loose ends of the traditional treatment, but also leads directly into the practical use of vectors in general curvilinear coordinates by carefully separating those relationships which are topologically invariant from those which are not. Based on the essentially geometric nature of the subject, this approach builds consistently on students' prior knowledge and geometrical intuition.

Written in an informal and personal style, Geometrical Vectors provides a handy guide for any student of vector analysis. Clear, carefully constructed line drawings illustrate key points in the text, and a set of problems is provided at the end of each chapter (except the Epilogue) to deepen understanding of the material presented. Pertinent physical examples are cited to show how geometrically informed methods of vector analysis may be applied to situations of special interest to physicists.

The Confessions of a Jewish Priest are the reminiscences of Gabriel Weinreich, a secular Jew who was born in Poland and moved to the U.S. as a young adolescent during World War II thus narrowly escaping the Holocaust. The book follows Weinreich as he becomes an American, twice-husband, father, and an award-winning scientist, and shows how his subsequent journey toward Christianity and ordination to the Episcopal priesthood do nothing to impair his sense of "Jewishness."In addition to telling a compelling life story of a boy from an eminent Jewish family, the book takes us on a journey into Christianity as perceived by a Jew who began as a complete atheist--but realizes later in life that he never really was an atheist after all.