Under the guidance and inspiration of Dr. Ajit Iqbal Singh, an International Conference on Harmonie Analysis took place at the Uni- versity of Delhi, India, from December 18 to 22, 1995. Twenty-one dis- tinguished mathematicians from around the world, as weIl as many from India, participated in this successful and stimulating conference. An underlying theme of the conference was hypergroups, the the- ory of wh ich has developed and been found useful in fields as diverse as special functions, differential equations, probability theory, representa- tion theory, measure theory, Hopf algebras and quantum groups. Some other areas of emphasis that emerged were harmonie analysis of analytic functions, ergo die theory and wavelets. This book includes most of the proceedings of this conference. I chaired the Editorial Board for this publication; the other members were J. M. Anderson (University College London), G. L. Litvinov (Centre for Optimization and Mathematical Modeling, Institute for New Technolo- gies, Moscow), Mrs. A. I. Singh (University ofDelhi, India), V. S. Sunder (Institute of Mathematical Sciences, C.LT., Madras, India), and N. J. Wildberger (University of New South Wales, Australia). I appreciate all the help provided by these editors as weIl as the help and cooperation of Our authors and referees of their papers. I especially appreciate techni- cial assistance and advice from Alan L. Schwartz (University of Missouri - St. Louis, USA) and Martin E. Walter (University of Colorado, USA). Finally, I thank Our editor, Ann Kostant, for her help and encouragement during this project.

"If you ask men if they spend any time hiding, they usually look at you as if you're nuts. 'What, me hide?' But if you ask women whether men hide, they immediately know what you mean."-from Where Men Hide Where Men Hide is a spirited tour of the dark and often dirty places men go to find comfort, camaraderie, relaxation, and escape. Ken Ross's striking photographs and James Twitchell's lively analysis trace the evolution of these virtual caves, and question why they are rapidly disappearing. Ross documents both traditional and contemporary male haunts, such as bars, barbershops, lodges, pool halls, strip clubs, garages, deer camps, megachurches, the basement Barcalounger, and Twitchell examines their provenance, purpose, and appeal. He finds that for centuries men have met with each other in underground lairs and clubhouses to conduct business or, in the case of strip clubs and the modern rec room, to bond and indulge in shady entertainments. In these secret dens, certain rules are abandoned while others are obeyed. However, Twitchell sees this less as exclusionary behavior and more as the result of social anxiety: when women want to get together, they just do it; when men get together, it's a production. Drawing on literary, historical, and pop cultural sources, Twitchell connects the places men hide with figures like Hemingway and Huck Finn, Frederick Jackson Turner's theory of the American frontier, and the mythological interpretations of Joseph Campbell and Robert Bly. Instead of blaming the disappearance of the man-cave solely on feminism, simple fair play, or the demands of Title IX, Twitchell believes this evaporation is due as well to the rise of solitary pursuits such as driving, watching television, and playing videogames. By blending together anecdote, research, and keen observation, Ross and Twitchell bring this little-discussed and controversial phenomenon to light.

In "A Mathematician at the Ballpark," professor Ken Ross reveals the math behind the stats. This lively and accessible book shows baseball fans how to harness the power of made predictions and better understand the game. Using real-world examples from historical and modern-day teams, Ross shows:
? Why on-base and slugging percentages are more important than batting averages
? How professional odds makers predict the length of a seven-game series
? How to use mathematics to make smarter bets
"A Mathematician at the Ballpark" is the perfect guide to the science of probability for the stats-obsessed baseball fans?and, with a detailed new appendix on fantasy baseball, an essential tool for anyone involved in a fantasy league.