In this book, Pierre de la Harpe provides a concise and engaging introduction to geometric group theory, a new method for studying infinite groups via their intrinsic geometry that has played a major role in mathematics over the past two decades. A recognized expert in the field, de la Harpe adopts a hands-on approach, illustrating key concepts with numerous concrete examples. The first five chapters present basic combinatorial and geometric group theory in a unique and refreshing way, with an emphasis on finitely generated versus finitely presented groups. In the final three chapters, de la Harpe discusses new material on the growth of groups, including a detailed treatment of the "Grigorchuk group." Most sections are followed by exercises and a list of problems and complements, enhancing the book's value for students; problems range from slightly more difficult exercises to open research problems in the field. An extensive list of references directs readers to more advanced results as well as connections with other fields.
In this book, Pierre de la Harpe provides a concise and engaging introduction to geometric group theory, a new method for studying infinite groups via their intrinsic geometry that has played a major role in mathematics over the past two decades. A recognized expert in the field, de la Harpe adopts a hands-on approach, illustrating key concepts with numerous concrete examples. The first five chapters present basic combinatorial and geometric group theory in a unique and refreshing way, with an emphasis on finitely generated versus finitely presented groups. In the final three chapters, de la Harpe discusses new material on the growth of groups, including a detailed treatment of the "Grigorchuk group." Most sections are followed by exercises and a list of problems and complements, enhancing the book's value for students; problems range from slightly more difficult exercises to open research problems in the field. An extensive list of references directs readers to more advanced results as well as connections with other fields.
Originally published in French in 1993 (Editions Pygmalion/Gerard Watelet, Paris), and expanded and revised for this translation. The founder of modern chemistry, Lavoisier (1743-1794) was active on commisions connected with agriculture, gunpowder, banking, and finance, and was ultimately executed during the Reign of Terror. This biography recounts Lavoisier's scientific accomplishments and his role in the chemical revolution and early history of organic chemistry and physiology; but it is in the examination of his political and economic activities and accomplishments that it breaks new ground. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
With our American Philosophy and Religion series, Applewood reissues many primary sources published throughout American history. Through these books, scholars, interpreters, students, and non-academics alike can see the thoughts and beliefs of Americans who came before us.
Welcome to seventeenth-century Paris, where intrigue, duels, and spies are rife and Cardinal Richelieu’s men may be prevailed upon to risk life and limb in the name of France at a moment’s notice. And with war on the horizon, the defense of the nation has never been more pressing. Danger is rising from the south—an insidious plot that could end with a huge dragon-shaped shadow falling over France, a shadow cast by dragons quite unlike the pet dragonets that roam the cities like stray cats, or the tame wyverns men ride like horses, high over the Parisian rooftops. These dragons and their descendants are ancient, terrible, and powerful ... and their plans contain little room for the lives or freedom of men. Cardinal Richelieu has nowhere else to turn; Captain La Fargue and his elite group of men, the Cardinal’s Blades, must turn the tide. They must hold the deadly Black Claw cult at bay, root out traitors to the crown, rescue prisoners, and fulfill their mission for the Cardinal, for their country, but above all for themselves. It’s death or victory. And the victory has never been less certain.
This volume contains thoroughly revised versions of the contributions presented at the French Spring School of Theoretical Computer Science, held in Font Romeu, France in May 1993. This seminar was devoted to rewriting in a broad sense, as rewriting is now an important discipline, relating to many other areas such as formal languages, models of concurrency, tree automata, functional programming languages, constraints, symbolic computation, and automated deduction. The book includes a number of surveys contributed by senior researchers as well as a few papers presenting original research of relevance for the broader theoretical computer science community.
« Souvenirs militaires de la République et de l’Empire. Paris, Dumaine, 1855, 2 vol. in-8°. Portr. Bon récit de la seconde campagne d’Italie (pp. 85-108) et surtout des opérations en Prusse et de l’occupation du pays : recensement des ressources (donations, problème de la monnaie... (pp. 111-168). Nombreux détails, mais des inexactitudes, sur la campagne d’Autriche (pp. 169-270), l’expédition d’Anvers (pp. 273-283). La guerre en Russie occupe les dernières pages du tome I et le début du tome II. La campagne de 1813 est également racontée de façon détaillée. A peu près rien en revanche sur la campagne de France. Les souvenirs s’achèvent sur les opérations de 1815. C’est par cette partie que Berthezène avait commencé la rédaction de ses mémoires en 1816. Malgré quelques erreurs, il a l’avantage sur d’autres généraux, de s’attacher à décrire les pays occupés ou envahis. » p 16 - Professeur Jean Tulard, Bibliographie Critique Des Mémoires Sur Le Consulat Et L’Empire, Droz, Genève, 1971
Unitary representations of groups play an important role in many subjects, including number theory, geometry, probability theory, partial differential equations, and quantum mechanics. This monograph focuses on dual spaces associated to a group, which are spaces of building blocks of general unitary representations. Special attention is paid to discrete groups for which the unitary dual, the most common dual space, has proven to be not useful in general and for which other duals spaces have to be considered, such as the primitive dual, the normal quasi-dual, or spaces of characters. The book offers a detailed exposition of these alternative dual spaces and covers the basic facts about unitary representations and operator algebras needed for their study. Complete and elementary proofs are provided for most of the fundamental results that up to now have been accessible only in original papers and appear here for the first time in textbook form. A special feature of this monograph is that the theory is systematically illustrated by a family of examples of discrete groups for which the various dual spaces are discussed in great detail: infinite dihedral group, Heisenberg groups, affine groups of fields, solvable Baumslag-Solitar group, lamplighter group, and general and special linear groups. The book will appeal to graduate students who wish to learn the basics facts of an important topic and provides a useful resource for researchers from a variety of areas. The only prerequisites are a basic background in group theory, measure theory, and operator algebras.
Since it was first published, French in Action: A Beginning Course in Language and Culture—The Capretz Method has been widely recognized in the field as a model for video-based foreign-language instructional materials. The third edition, revised by Pierre Capretz and Barry Lydgate, includes new, contemporary illustrations throughout and, in the Documents section of each lesson, more-relevant information for today’s students. A completely new feature is a journal by the popular character Marie-Laure, who observes and comments humorously on the political, cultural, and technological changes in the world between 1985 and today. The new edition also incorporates more content about the entire Francophone world. In use by hundreds of colleges, universities, and high schools, French in Action remains a powerful educational resource that this third edition updates for a new generation of learners. Part 2 gives students at the intermediate level the tools they need to communicate effectively in French and to understand and appreciate French and Francophone cultures.
“A truly remarkable forgotten chapter of European intellectual history, laid out with passion and integrity.” (The Wall Street Journal) The exploits of Alexander the Great were so remarkable that for centuries after his death the Macedonian ruler seemed a figure more of legend than of history. Thinkers of the European Enlightenment, searching for ancient models to understand contemporary affairs, were the first to critically interpret Alexander’s achievements. As Pierre Briant shows, in the minds of eighteenth-century intellectuals and philosophers, Alexander was the first European: a successful creator of empire who opened the door to new sources of trade and scientific knowledge, and an enlightened leader who brought the fruits of Western civilization to an oppressed and backward “Orient.” In France, Scotland, England, and Germany, Alexander the Great became an important point of reference in discourses from philosophy and history to political economy and geography. Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Robertson asked what lessons Alexander’s empire-building had to teach modern Europeans. They saw the ancient Macedonian as the embodiment of the rational and benevolent Western ruler, a historical model to be emulated as Western powers accelerated their colonial expansion into Asia, India, and the Middle East. “This important work. . . . confirms once more that the life-trajectory of the Macedonian conqueror remains an inexhaustible cultural resource.” —Sanjay Subrahmanyam, University of California, Los Angeles, author of Empires Between Islam and Christianity
Alexander I was a ruler with high aspirations for the people of Russia. Cosseted as a young grand duke by Catherine the Great, he ascended to the throne in 1801 after the brutal assassination of his father. In this magisterial biography, Marie-Pierre Rey illuminates the complex forces that shaped Alexander's tumultuous reign and sheds brilliant new light on the handsome ruler known to his people as "the Sphinx." Despite an early and ambitious commitment to sweeping political reforms, Alexander saw his liberal aspirations overwhelmed by civil unrest in his own country and by costly confrontations with Napoleon, which culminated in the French invasion of Russia and the burning of Moscow in 1812. Eventually, Alexander turned back Napoleon's forces and entered Paris a victor two years later, but by then he had already grown weary of military glory. As the years passed, the tsar who defeated Napoleon would become increasingly preoccupied with his own spiritual salvation, an obsession that led him to pursue a rapprochement between the Orthodox and Roman churches. When in exile, Napoleon once remarked of his Russian rival: "He could go far. If I die here, he will be my true heir in Europe." It was not to be. Napoleon died on Saint Helena and Alexander succumbed to typhus four years later at the age of forty-eight. But in this richly nuanced portrait, Rey breathes new life into the tsar who stood at the center of the political chessboard of early nineteenth-century Europe, a key figure at the heart of diplomacy, war, and international intrigue during that region's most tumultuous years.
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