Conquering Corporate Codependence: Lifeskills for Making It Within or Without the Corporation

Book Description

The second edition of this popular introduction to the classical underpinnings of the mathematics behind finance continues to combine sound mathematical principles with economic applications. Concentrating on the probabilistic theory of continuous arbitrage pricing of financial derivatives, including stochastic optimal control theory and Merton's fund separation theory, the book is designed for graduate students and combines necessary mathematical background with a solid economic focus. It includes a solved example for every new technique presented, contains numerous exercises, and suggests further reading in each chapter. In this substantially extended new edition Bjork has added separate and complete chapters on measure theory, probability theory, Girsanov transformations, LIBOR and swap market models, and martingale representations, providing two full treatments of arbitrage pricing: the classical delta-hedging and the modern martingales. More advanced areas of study are clearly marked to help students and teachers use the book as it suits their needs.

Customer Reviews:

Nicely Prepared Intermediate-Level Treatment.......2005-05-06

The author has put together an excellent text that will take readers of an elementary text like Hull's "Options, Futures and Other Derivatives" to the next level. In the author's treatment, the power of stochastic calculus is brought to bear on the options pricing problem from the point of view of modern martingale theory, if not the complete mathematical rigor needed to establish all the results.

The text contains 26 chapters and 3 appendices. There is simply too much here to give a blow-by-blow account. So I'll try to hit the highlights.

The author gives intuitive definitions of some of the more heavy concepts from measure theory/Lebesgue integration, measure-theoretic probability theory and basic stochastic analysis. For the rigor, one need only look to the appendices, but the treatment is intuitive enough that can still follow along with only the occasionally glance to the back of the book.

Readers of Hull's text will find the first couple of chapters quite familiar, but starting in Chapter 4, stochastic integrals are (somewhat) formally introduced, along with the multi-dimensional version of Ito's change of variable rule. This is not overkill as the development of multi-factor term structure models later in the book benefits from this early development.
We note that these formulas are stated without proof, although they are motivated intuitively.

In the next chapter, stochastic differential equations are introduced and the Feynman-Kac representation is established as a nice application of Ito's rule. The chapter winds up with an intuitive treatment of Kolmogorov's forward & backward equations.

For the remainder of the first half of the text, readers of Hull will feel themselves in quite familiar territory, as the author develops the solution for the options pricing problem, studies the Greek letters and establishes parity using the now classical approach.

The second half of the text delves into martingale methods for mathematical finance. As a consequence, the sophistication level jumps considerably. The reader is well-advised to get the basic analytical toolkit in hand before delving too far into the second half of the book. I recommend Rudin's "Real and Complex Analysis" 3rd edition.

Heavy machinery is pulled in from functional analysis to establish the first and second fundamental theorems of mathematical finance. Without some basic understanding of Hilbert and Banach space theory, the reader will understand very little of this treatment.

The next highlight is the Girsanov Theorem. The author actual provides a proof in the scalar case, and presents (without proof) the Novikov condition to test when the Girsanov transformation is indeed a martingale (so the theorem holds). As a nice application, the Black-Scholes theory is revisted and re-established via these martingale results.

Another highlight is the study of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman model for stochastic control, along with a small catalogue of cases under which the HJB equations can be solved. As a nice application, Merton's mutual fund theorem is established.

The last several chapters of the book deal with martingale methods for term structure models. There is a nice survey and study of the 1-factor short rate models before loading up and doing the k-factor model framework of Heath-Jarrow-Morton.
The martingale setting makes for a very rigorous treatment.

The book ends with a really nice treatment of the Libor Market and Swap Market Models. Pure finance students may feel that the mathematics at the end unnecessarily overwhelms the intuition, but students of mathematical finance will appreciate the analytical treatment and may even feel inspired to implement their own LMM.

There are a ton of terrific exercises at the end of each chapter. The exercises really solidify the understanding of the presentation and they make great technical interview questions as well.

intuitive introduction to option pricing.......2004-11-10

I agree with several reviewers above that the book is written in a style very helpful for students to understand the material.

It doesn't contain a lot of small details of financial markets like Hull's book, but the approach is very systematic. The derivations of formula for Barrier options is a nice example, Hull only lists a set of formula. The focus is on the theory, not on the practice. (No numerical method in the book). Bjork's book is very valuable for a student with very good math skills but want to learn the reasoning style for option pricing. It is a quick and enjoyable read.

A huge plus side of the book is to describe strategy before writing down all the proofs. This helps greatly. It can be contrasted with Duffie's book "Dynamic Asset Pricing Theory", which is written like a dry math book (well, I have to admit that Duffie's book is not an intro book)

Only thing I can think of that can be improved is typo in the book, too many wrong formula, especially in the second half of the book, luckily enough, they are obviously wrong so that one can still understand the topics. I also find that using SEK and mentioning street name of Britain are amusing for a student in U.S.

Hell, I should have rated it 5 stars!.......2002-05-26

If you're going to be introduced to Derivatives pricing and Quantitative finance in continuous time, you need some basics in probability theory, an elementary introduction to stochastic calculus and you need "bjork". It tells you the equation and how to understand it.

It's the best source for a complete understanding of the basics of arbitrage free pricing in continuous time; whether it's in complete or incomplete markets.

The best feature of this book is how the author invariably provides an "intuitive interpretation or explanation" to convey critical concepts. {Things like market price of risk in the context of interest rate modelling, change of measure etc...}

Why I rated the book 4 instead of 5?
I will not forgive "Tomas bjork" not to have covered the Libor Market Model; it's "THE" model and therefore should be covered in great details by any book of this calibre. A new edition of this book with the libor market model is needed.
Having said that, the coverage he gives to the popular short rate models is worth every read!

Guy,
Msc Financial Engineering at ISMA Center, Reading - UK.

Good introductory book.......2002-05-25

It is a good book to read as an introduction to the field. The author is successful in conveying the intuition behind the models instead of striving for complete mathematical rigor. I recommend this book if you want to quickly get acquainted with derivatives pricing but are a bit afraid of the higher math seen in other books.

An FE Bible.......2001-11-08

The central text for IOE 552(financial Engineering I) at the University of Michigan. Halfway through the course and I really understand the application of Ito's Lemma and the Feynman-Kac stochastic representation theorem. This book has just the right mixture of narative story telling, and mathematical rigor. The derivations are accessible to those with a semester of advanced calculus and a semester of probability. Over and over, Bjork shows that the secret of success in Financial Engineering is "RAIL" which stands for the "Relentless Application of Ito's Lemma".

No-arbitrage semi-martingale restrictions for continuous-time volatility models subject to leverage effects, jumps and i.i.d. noise: Theory and testable ... [An article from: Journal of Econometrics]

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No-arbitrage semi-martingale restrictions for continuous-time volatility models subject to leverage effects, jumps and i.i.d. noise: Theory and testable ... [An article from: Journal of Econometrics]
T.G. Andersen , T. Bollerslev , and D. Dobrev
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PDYNSM

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Econometrics, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
We develop a sequential procedure to test the adequacy of jump-diffusion models for return distributions. We rely on intraday data and nonparametric volatility measures, along with a new jump detection technique and appropriate conditional moment tests, for assessing the import of jumps and leverage effects. A novel robust-to-jumps approach is utilized to alleviate microstructure frictions for realized volatility estimation. Size and power of the procedure are explored through Monte Carlo methods. Our empirical findings support the jump-diffusive representation for S&P500 futures returns but reveal it is critical to account for leverage effects and jumps to maintain the underlying semi-martingale assumption.

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Arbitrage Theory in Continuous Time
Tomas Bjork
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OL2WXS

Book Description

This book covers all aspects of the ecology of tropical earthworm communities and their effects on soil properties and plant growth. It examines the latest methods and technologies which facilitate their management for the maximum benefit to the farmer, and it includes work from leading experts in Europe, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia.

Book Description

Be prepared for drilling's hottest trend

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by 2005, 30% of all wells will be drilled using gas and air. The Air and Gas Drilling Manual, by William Lyons -- an internationally known expert and holder of nine drilling patents -- lays out everything you need to apply air and gas drilling to all kinds of operations, from the most basic to the most complex, and for the shallowest to the deepest. You’re shown how to:
Master the air and gas drilling techniques in vital industries: construction and development of water wells, monitoring wells, geotechnical boreholes, mining operations boreholes, and more
Calculate volumetric flow and compressor requirements.
Drill with stable foam, unstable foam, and aerated liquids (as well as gas and air)
Handle the special considerations of deep hole drilling
Perform direct and reverse-flow circulation calculations
Specify drills, collars, and casings
Engineer and operate specialized downhole projects
Plan operations and choose air package contractors

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Customer Reviews:

Air and Gas Drilling Manual 2nd Ed........2007-08-17

The Air and Gas Drilling Manual shows you how to:

Master the air and gas drilling techniques in vital industries: construction and development of water wells, monitoring wells, geotechnical boreholes, mining operations boreholes, and more.
Calculate volumetric flow and compressor requirements.
Drill with stable foam, unstable foam, and aerated liquids (as well as gas and air).
Handle the special considerations of deep hole drilling.
Perform direct and reverse-flow circulation calculations.
Specify drills, collars, and casings.
Engineer and operate specialized downhole projects
Plan operations and choose air package contractors.
Typical air packages utilized.

Whether you're a geologist, environmentalist, or a petroleum, mining, drilling, groundwater, or other engineer, this definitive, applications-based resource is poised to increase your expertise in this critical new area of drilling technology.

Construction
Water Wells
Environmental Monitoring and Remediation
Geotech Boreholes
Horizontal
Mining
Natural Gas
Petroleum
Vertical
Water Wells

From a student of the author.......2002-03-26

I got to help test-drive this textbook's material by being in a course taught by Dr. Lyons' as the book was being published, and let me tell you, this book is chock full of information about air & gas drilling. The detail is amazing, giving step-by-step examples in calculating flowrates of various drilling methods, such as aerated and foam drilling. Graphs are provided for different flowrates with all the major industry-standard drill pipes, and other helpful graphs such as geothermal gradient, surface temperature and pressure.

I took the course using this textbook as part of a Petroleum Engineering curriculum. However, this book applies to a multitude of other industries, because of environmentally-friendly and economic nature. It'll cover all the basics for you. Don't know what kinds of air compressors are out there, and how they work? Need to know the different kinds of drilling platforms are in use? Don't know the difference between direct and reverse circulation? This book has got you covered. Air and gas drilling is the next big thing in rotary drilling.

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Air and Gas Drilling Manual
William C. Lyons
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFRE5U

Book Description

Spaceship Neutrino charts the history of the neutrino, from its beginnings in the 1930s, when it was postulated as a way of explaining an otherwise intractable problem in physics, to its crucial role in modern theories of the Universe. Christine Sutton is well known for her popular science writing. In this book she describes how the detection and measurement of neutrino properties have tested technology to its limits, requiring huge detectors, often located deep in mines, under mountains or even under the sea. As part of the story she explains without the use of mathematics how our understanding of the structure of matter and the forces that hold it together have come from work with neutrinos, and how these insignificant particles hold the key to our understanding of the beginning and the end of the Universe.

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Spaceship Neutrino
Christine Sutton
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MUDCVC

Book Description

A delightful collection of diverse tales, ranging from short stories and personal essays to literary criticism and travel pieces, The L1,000,000 Bank-Note gathers together nine works, many of which are now unobtainable elsewhere, that testify to the range of Twain's humor and the diversity of his interests. It was published in 1893, in a disastrous decade for the United States, a time marked by doubt and waning optimism, rapid immigration, labor problems, unchecked Social Darwinism, and the rise of political violence and social protest. It was also a difficult time for Twain personally, as he was forced into bankruptcy and devastated by the death of his favorite daughter, Suzy. Yet the title story still brims with confidence and optimism, marking the moment of hope just before Twain turned to the grim stories of his later years. "The L1,000,000 Bank-Note" charts the magical rags-to-riches ascent of a virtuous and resourceful mining broker's clerk from San Francisco who arrives in London with a single dollar in his pocket, and proceeds to ultimate and splendid financial success and fame in London society -- a paean to ingenuity and a celebration of its cunning confidence-man narrator. The other pieces range from "Mental Telegraphy," a serious essay reflecting Twain's continuing interest in the occult -- he and his wife would later try several seances, poignantly and unsuccessfully, to contact their daughter Suzy -- to a tongue-in-cheek "Petition to the Queen of England" for relief from taxes. Readers will also find several of Twain's famously engaging travel essays, combining autobiographical reminiscence, tall tales, and ruminations on society and culture in pieces on the new city of Berlin, advances in transatlantic travel, and, in "Playing Courier," a brilliant comedy of confusion at the common frustrations of international travel. A charming collection of tales that cover the wide range of Twain's diverse interests.

Customer Reviews:

Humor, Irony, and Entertainment.......2000-04-27

Mark Twain's 1,000,000 bank note is a charming story with a few suprises. Whe a man is shipwrecked his life takes a surprising turn. He finds himself accross the Atlantic Ocean without a cent to his name and with only what he is wearing. In England his missfortune interests two welthy men who decide to make a bet on him. He is given only a 1,000,000 pound bank note and a month on his own. Mark twain uses humor and irony wonderfully in this book. As in many of his books insights into human nature, especcially pride, are enlightening and logical. I would recomend this book to anyone who enjoys humorus short stories without too much slapstick.

L1,000,000 Bank Note & Other New Stories

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L1,000,000 Bank Note & Other New Stories
Mark Twain [S.L. Clemens]
Manufacturer: Charles L. Webster & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JCYVPO

L1,000,000 Bank Note & Other New Stories, The ( L 1000000 Bank-Note ) bright cover showing a wolf fleeing the bank note

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L1,000,000 Bank Note & Other New Stories, The ( L 1000000 Bank-Note ) bright cover showing a wolf fleeing the bank note
frontispiece with Tissue Guard Mark Twain
Manufacturer: Charles L. Webster & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JD2RF4

Book Description

'Unto thy seed I have given this land.' From the moment of God's covenant with Abraham in the Old Testament, the idea that a people are chosen by God has had a central role in shaping national identity. Chosen Peoples argues powerfully that sacred belief remains central to national identity, even in an increasingly secular, globalized modern world. In this important new study, Anthony D. Smith goes in search of the deep Judeo-Christian roots of the many manifestations of national identity. This rich and timely contribution to current debates about nationalism explains the complex historical reasons behind often violent modern conflicts around issues of land, culture, religion, and politics. Tracing the development of individual nations over many centuries, it offers fascinating insights into the religious and cultural foundations of countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Israel, France, and Germany. The argument draws on a wide range of examples from historic landscapes in Ireland, Switzerland and Egypt, myths of Arthurian Britain, Holy Russia, and Byzantium, through memories of a 'Golden Age', to the modern commemoration of the 'Glorious Dead', and of victims of war.

Amazon.com

Emily Dickinson wrote "The Brain--is wider than the Sky," and who can argue with that? Quoted by Nobel-winning scientist Gerald M. Edelman and his Neurosciences Institute colleague Giulio Tononi in A Universe of Consciousness, Miss Emily neatly explains the problem of conscious awareness, then ducks out of the way as the two scientists get to work solving it. Testable theories of consciousness are mighty lonely, as even the soberest mind can be driven to tears of madness pondering its own activity. Centuries of work by philosophers and psychologists like James and Freud have made little progress by starting with awareness and working backward to the brain; these days we have a secure enough base to try looking in the other direction and building a theory of the mind out of neurons.

Though Edelman and Tononi do make a good effort to help out the lay reader, ultimately A Universe of Consciousness is aimed at the interdisciplinary gang of scientists and academics trying to understand our shared but invisible experience. The first sections of the book cover the basic philosophical, psychological, and biological elements essential to their theory. Swiftly the authors proceed to define terms and concepts (even the long-abused term complexity gets a reappraisal) and elaborate on these to create a robust, testable theory of the neural basis of consciousness. Following this hard work, they consider some ramifications of the theory and take a close look at language and thinking. This much-needed jump-start is sure to provoke a flurry of experimental and theoretical responses; A Universe of Consciousness might just help us answer some of the greatest questions of science, philosophy, and even poetry. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

A Nobel Prize-winning scientist and a leading brain researcher show how the brain creates conscious experience In A Universe of Consciousness, Gerald Edelman builds on the radical ideas he introduced in his monumental trilogy-Neural Darwinism, Topobiology, and The Remembered Present-to present for the first time an empirically supported full-scale theory of consciousness. He and the neurobiolgist Giulio Tononi show how they use ingenious technology to detect the most minute brain currents and to identify the specific brain waves that correlate with particular conscious experiences. The results of this pioneering work challenge the conventional wisdom about consciousness.

Customer Reviews:

A Commendable Attempt at our Most Miraculous Question.......2006-12-05

-This is a leading neuroscientific contribution to explaining the nature of consciousness. The authors have written other books and abstracts (an excellent, concise summary by Dr. Edelman may be found in the NY Academy of Science Annals, Vol 882), but this one seems to have the most depth and development. The book was written in 2000 and is intended to give an overview, which makes it less prone to going out of date. In fact, it seems to give a reasonably sound foundational basis for understanding more recent developments, such as the role of electrical wave propagation in conscious activity.
-The main purpose of "Universe" is approaching the problem of how objectively describable events ("the external and internal world") produces private subjective experience. Many have attempted this but only recently have we been able to scientifically probe it (although our understanding still reflects the insights of the Greeks and other capable philosophers). The authors give us some unique suggestions for current understanding and integrating further developments. "Universe" builds a foundation of basic neural activity, discusses how computer modeling can offer hints to the working of the human mind although they cannot explain or duplicate it, discusses how conscious and unconscious neural activity may be integrated and differentiated, and suggests how neural activity self-selects (the authors expand upon an earlier thesis that Darwin's evolution is a far better foundation than directly psychological abstractions like Freud's). "Universe" humbly recognizes the incomprehensible vastness of the human mind (the authors call it "hyperastronomical"), and how unlikely it is that we will ever completely describe it except in a trivial sense. The authors suggest we are far better off conceiving of the mind and Consciousness as an incredibly dynamic Event rather than something static (Heraclitus was too kind -- we cannot even have the same thought once, let alone twice). The authors seem to make a major descriptive contribution by insights into the Dynamic Core Hypothesis ( a highly differentiated, anatomically clustered, complex, and self-coordinating functioning of neuronal groups) and re-entry (a continuous reciprocal signalling, roughly similar to a coordinated and massively dynamic feedback type system, which can integrate anatomically segregated areas of the brain without demanding a central "man-in-the-box" coordination area). The authors' discussion of Qualia (the quality and intensity of private subjective experience) seems to reflect our continued inability to describe these phenomena as accurately as we would like.
-"Universe" can be as challenging as you want it to be, and it is an interesting and thoughtful study of consciousness from leading and respected scientists. The notes and Bibliography are excellent, and the authors wisely uses space to develop his ideas, rather than give an overview of everyone else's. The authors admit this is not some kind of final theory of consciousness, but it seems a reasonable description of some of the issues and foundations for consciousness. It is like setting out on an expedition with a basically accurate but incomplete map, which can be changed and filled in along the way, rather than relying on guesswork or hearsay.
As a suggestion to help you enjoy this book, I found it greatly helped to set aside a few minutes to scan each chapter before reading it, which helped appreciate the continuity of the arguments. I also found a neuroanatomy atlas (such as Nolte) useful.

The BEST Book on Consciousness -- By Far.......2005-08-07

This is a most exciting and most challenging read on consciousness. Finally, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry return as the hallmarks of the theory, bolstered by a high amount of "Neural Darwinism," in order, "to formulate a specific hypothesis about the kinds of neural processes that can account for the fundamental integrative and informative properties of conscious experience." The theory, known as "neuronal group selection" is a completely naturalist, wholly scientific, empirically-sated theory of consciousness. (Some knowledge of statistics will help, but is not necessary, for some middle chapters.)

Rejected is Pinker's computational model of the brain ("How the Mind Words"). Gone are Damasio's dysfunctional subjects as counter-illustrations of the normative ("Descartes' Error" et alia). Gone too is Johnston's entirely solipsistic theory of mind ("Why We Feel"). Also ignored are the philosophical speculation and armchair conjectures one encounters in Chalmer's "The Conscious Mind," Dennett's "Consciousness Explained," and Penrose's "Shadows of the Mind."

Instead, Edleman and Tononi in "The Universe of Consciousness" respond to philosopher John Searle's demand for a strictly functional and biological account of consciousness (see, Searle's "Rediscovery of Mind" and "Mystery of Consciousness"). Among the some of the enigmas rejected is the representational theory of memory; in its stead is an associative and creative replicational theory of memory, which is dynamic and reacting to its environment always anew. If one learns anything from this book, it is that consciousness is not a state(s) of mind, but a complex, dynamic, and integrative neural process.

This fascinating, detective-like examination of consciousness is not for the casual reader; this is a demanding and rigorous read: Concepts like perceptual categorization, memory reactivation, concepts, values, etc. that depend on a wholly Darwinian sense of developmental selection, experimental selection, and "reentry" ("the process of ongoing and recursive signaling between separate brain maps along massively parallel anatomical connections"), all combine with detailed neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry in order to substantiate the theory. The theory requires one's complete, but undivided, attention. It's a difficult subject, but masterful job.

While the book is both exciting and a challenge, I admire the authors' ability to tackle a difficult task without complicating it with arcane, elliptic, or meandering conversation (cf., Pinker). This is an exciting, engaging, but very serious, book on a theory of consciousness. Where difficult concepts and biologies require, analogies are provided. Indubitably, "Universe of Consciousness" is the best written, empirical, biological, and conceptual account of consciousness I've read, and I've read more than a few. My only criticism, since it's warranted, is stylistic: The dense content could be helped by less-dense sentential structures. Otherwise, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Boring.......2005-06-08

I have been reading about the brain and working of the mind for a few years now (I am 50). I am also a university professor in engineering and consider myself well-informed. I have read many popular science books which are popular because they are interesting to general readers. This books utterly lacks interesting points especially for someone who is already familiar with the working of the brain. I am wondering if there is a reviewing conspiracy to glamorize this book which not only throws neurological jargon at you in bundles, but, at the end offers nothing content-wise. What theory? That consciousness arises from a complex and highly integrated system? Dah.. I wonder how you reached that conclusion. There is a good use for a book full of jibberish however - I use it before bed and it puts me to sleep immediately, for that reason I give it 2 starts. For a book on this subject, one can read the first and last chapters and know what the content of the book is in a nutshell. I have read them a few times and everytime I am completely blank - nothing, this books says nothing ... but it may impress some people as highly significant becasue the presentation is highly cast in scietific terms.

Imagine a complex subject ..........2004-11-17

How does matter become imagination? That's the compelling subtitle of this work. The answer is not easy to follow but Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi make the effort worthwhile. I had to work to keep up with the subject. It felt like a difficult but positive workout.

The subject matter is dense. The authors have created a writing style which in no way dumbs down the subject for its audience - if the audience is someone like me, a knowledgeable lay-person. I appreciated the chapter prefaces and came back to them often as I made my way into the billions of possible mind states.

Edelman and Tononi put forward an in depth theory of the brain's machinations to achieve consciousness. With effort the reader will get a wonderful perspective on how the world out there becomes the inner world of imagination. I applaud the authors for their research and communication skills on such a difficult subject. I recommend this book to everyone interested in the subject of consciousness and who are willing to expend some gray matter to follow the discourse.

Interesting, intelligent work that aims a bit too high.......2003-09-10

There is no doubt in my mind, after reading this book, that the authors have done excellent scientific work and made very interesting discoveries. On the other hand, it has certain problems.

To start with, it seems clear that they do not have a full grasp of the philosophical problems they are attempting to resolve - or if they do, they avoid going into the stickier points. This is not necessarily a reason to condemn the book; there are huge volumes of philosophy on this subject, and it would be futile to try and fit a quick resolution into one small volume already full of other facts. Nonetheless, they probably should have avoided the philosophical aspect entirely if all they were going to do is attack the mind/body problem in a way that arguably does nothing but shift the terms around a bit to produce the appearance of a resolution. There is essentially nothing new here, philosophically, and they certainly had more than enough interesting material for a book without attempting this.

A second thing that disappointed me is the lack of contrasting points of view. It seems unfair to ask an author to present a summary of theories which argue against his own, but in fact it's in the best interest of an author/scientist. What are the points of contention between theories, and what are the alternate explanations? This gives the author an ideal chance to explain why their theory is superior, what it has that the others lack... and in turn it gives the reader the chance to be convinced (or not) by the force of the argument, which is always more intellectually satisfying than being led by the nose.

Stylistically, also, it could have used a bit of revision. Long, complex sentences are fine (great, even) for something like Proust. When you populate those sentences - even if they're perfect grammatically - with large and generally unfamiliar scientific terms, it can be quite awkward. This happened just frequently enough to be a nuisance, as far as I was concerned.

So, apart from these criticisms, the subject material is still interesting. I would be inclined, however, to look for a more recent title by these authors (or others) on the subject. A lot can be discovered in a few years, and hopefully the experience they gained in writing this book will help them produce a work with a bit more polish.

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Consciousness: How Matter Becomes Imagination
Edelman Gerard Et Al
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIWYIY

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