Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS, Second Edition

Book Description

The LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System kit enables anyone to build programmable robots with an assortment of LEGO pieces that snap, slide, and click into place. In this exciting second edition from MINDSTORMS expert Dave Baum, you'll be able to take your robotics experiments to a new level.

Baum takes you step-by-step through the entire process of building and programming MINDSTORMS robots using both LEGO's RCX code and the author's own, more powerful programming language, Not Quite C (NQC). This edition has been updated with new programs that take advantage of the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System 2.0 and includes instructions for building 14 different robots including Tankbot, Bugbot, and Brick Sorter.

With Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS, Second Edition, you will master the challenging yet always fun creation of your own robots from the ground up!

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The LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System kit enables anyone to build a programmable robot with an assortment of LEGO pieces that snap, slide, and click into place. In this exciting second edition from MINDSTORMS expert Dave Baum, readers will be able to take their robotics experiments to a new level!

Baum takes the reader step-by-step through the entire process of building and programming MINDSTORMS robots using both LEGO's RCX code and the author's own, more powerful programming language Not Quite C (NQC). This edition has been updated with new programs that take advantage of the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System 2.0 and includes instructions for building 14 different robots including Tankbot, Bugbot, and Brick Sorter.

With Definitive Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS, Second Edition, you will master the challenging yet always fun creation of your own robots from the ground up!

Customer Reviews:

NQC.......2006-04-28

I found the projects interesting and the introduction to Not Quite C NQC excellent. The author demonstrates how to connect the touch sensors and light sensors physically and then add programming code to control the logic that produces power from the central processor to a motor that powers a gear. The basics are simple to understand and the project increase in sophistication and complexity.

The book explains explains different types of gear ratios, differential gear combinations, power and speed gear ratios, pulleys, power connections, stop latch, levels, frames, sound, and how to simulate an actuator like a grabber.

The robotic behavior can be either conditional or remote controlled. I'm a programmer and this book helped me break into the world of robot programming, signal programming, multitask abstraction, and signal processing without having construct the hardware.

Lego Mindstorm is a much easier and faster way to build simple robots verses trying to construct all the hardware on your own. Each chapter has a flow chart of tasks and functionality that help explain the logic controlling the robot. I found this book a delight to read and understand.

Good content, but fatally flawed illustrations........2002-12-30

This is a first impression, and may be upgraded later. The textual content, including appendices, is good. Unfortunately, the illustrations have inadequate contrast, and are difficult to interpret even under very bright light. This is due to extensive and unnecessary use of gray scale, both in assembly drawings and flow charts(!). While it is quite possible that Apress printed the grayscale much darker than Mr. Baum intended, I believe the decision to use gray scale at all was flawed. On the other hand, the use of isometric ("3D") projections is entirely appropriate. If reprinted with isometric line drawings (no gray scale) I'd probably rate it 5 stars (especially if I could trade in my gray scale version).

Customer Reviews:

Short, but good.......2001-07-09

Shoppers should know that this book actually contains only 19 small pages of Galbraith's words. While his speech is a good one, it is surprisingly short. The rest of the 54 pages is filled with introductions, thanks, afterwords and platitudes that were given during this inauguration of the Senator Keith Davey Lecture Series.

Happiness attainable through clarividence and social concern.......1999-05-21

I purchased that little book about fifty pages, curious I was of recent thoughts by Professor Galbraith. I had read, in Portuguese, his last book "The Good Society" and, to me, all those thoughts on the basic roles of the STATE (Government) did make a lot of sense. He is so clear when he stresses as threshold functions of government in a time when most people are defending the excessive reduction of the size of the state. The basic state roles of: guaranteeing the resilience of the environment, for present and future generations, the ordering of the employment system, the keeping of the social order and being preventive about possible processes of self destruction, are brought about in his coherent work. This book "The Socially Concerned Today" is a very useful set of advises to all of us who live in this turbulent time. It makes us feel that each one of us should act, that our small action is necessary and may combine to promote the basic improving changes. There are speeches about the author made by Professor Prichard, of the University of Toronto, Canadian Senator Davey and Queen's University Professor Meisel. It amazes me that with age certain scholars like Galbraith and Juran, to name two, become younger and daring in their ways of expressing their thoughts. Internationalism, as compared to unrestrained nationalism, is brought to us as something to be pre-conditioned, not to harm the welfare systems of some participating states. The present crisis in our world, typical of what he calls mindless internationalism, show decision-makers should have read Galbraith's book. His sentence - " concern for human well-being does not stop at national frontiers" - if respected, would have spared us all of losing lives, environmental and economical assets. His warn that the malignant fear towards inflation should not "arrest all economic progress" - is fundamental. The cultivation of WANTS-SUPPLIES cyclic chain of present capitalism is brought to our attention. We are living such a dangerous vicious cycle, and the consequences, are difficult to appraise. If we barely assess them with respect to impacts in the environment and social systems, we will find that efficiency, effectiveness and equity are not present in the life cycle of policies, and hence such a value chain is a fake. My respects to such a good work of a serious world thinker - Dr. J. K. Galbraith.

Book Description

This is a compilation that contains the major statutes affecting federal rules of civil procedure.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:: As Amendedto May 3; 1999-2000 Educational Edition

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:: As Amendedto May 3; 1999-2000 Educational Edition

Manufacturer: West Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Civil Procedure | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The 1998-99 pamphlet provides an historical introduction to the federal rules of civil procedure and includes the full text of rules. The appendices contain selected station provisions, the Constitution of the United States, federal rules of evidence, and proposed rule amendments.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure : 1999-2000 Educational Edition (Statutory Supplement Ser.)

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure : 1999-2000 Educational Edition (Statutory Supplement Ser.)
N/A
Manufacturer: West Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTT9ZO

Book Description

Magnesium-based alloys containing rare-earth metals are important structural materials, as they combine low density with high-strength properties. This makes them particularly attractive for industry, especially in cases where the low weight of constructions is critical, as in aircraft and space apparatus construction. One of the remarkable features of alloys is the significant difference made by individual rare-earth metals when they are added to magnesium. This second edition of Magnesium Alloys Containing Rare-Earth Metals: Structure and Properties describes the constitution and properties of magnesium-based alloys containing rare-earth metals. It presents the dependence of their characteristics on their atomic number and place in the periodic table and discusses new ideas for rare-earth metals as alloying additives to magnesium. This volume consists mainly of research from Russian scientists but also contains western literature making it a valuable reference tool for students, researchers and professionals in materials science and metallurgy.

Book Description

Meet Lucifer Box: Equal parts James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, with a twist of Monty Python and a dash of Austin Powers, Lucifer has a charming countenance and rapier wit that make him the guest all hostesses must have. And most do.

But few of his conquests know that Lucifer is also His Majesty's most daring secret agent, at home in both London's Imperial grandeur and in its underworld of despicable vice. So when Britain's most prominent scientists begin turning up dead, there is only one man his country can turn to for help.

Following a dinnertime assassination, Lucifer is dispatched to uncover the whereabouts of missing agent Jocelyn Poop. Along the way he will give art lessons, be attacked by a poisonous centipede, bed a few choice specimens, and travel to Italy on business and pleasure. Aided by his henchwoman Delilah; the beautiful, mysterious, and Dutch Miss Bella Pok; his boss, a dwarf who takes meetings in a lavatory; grizzled vulcanologist Emmanuel Quibble; and the impertinent, delicious, right-hand-boy Charlie Jackpot, Lucifer Box deduces and seduces his way from his elegant townhouse at Number 9 Downing Street (somebody has to live there) to the ruined city of Pompeii, to infiltrate a highly dangerous secret society that may hold the fate of the world in its clawlike grip--the Vesuvius Club.

Download Description

"Meet Lucifer Box: Equal parts James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, with a twist of Monty Python and a dash of Austin Powers, Lucifer has a charming countenance and rapier wit that make him the guest all hostesses must have. And most do. But few of his conquests know that Lucifer is also His Majesty's most daring secret agent, at home in both London's Imperial grandeur and in its underworld of despicable vice. So when Britain's most prominent scientists begin turning up dead, there is only one man his country can turn to for help. Following a dinnertime assassination, Lucifer is dispatched to uncover the whereabouts of missing agent Jocelyn Poop. Along the way he will give art lessons, be attacked by a poisonous centipede, bed a few choice specimens, and travel to Italy on business and pleasure. Aided by his henchwoman Delilah; the beautiful, mysterious, and Dutch Miss Bella Pok; his boss, a dwarf who takes meetings in a lavatory; grizzled vulcanologist Emmanuel Quibble; and the impertinent, delicious, right-hand-boy Charlie Jackpot, Lucifer Box deduces and seduces his way from his elegant townhouse at Number 9 Downing Street (somebody has to live there) to the ruined city of Pompeii, to infiltrate a highly dangerous secret society that may hold the fate of the world in its clawlike grip--the Vesuvius Club. "

Customer Reviews:

Fast-paced, witty, and thoroughly surprising!.......2007-08-03

Mark Gatiss as a writer represents a wonderful mix of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sax Rhomer and Monty Python. Part of the fun of the book is discovering the plot, so I won't divulge too much. You just need to know the action takes place in Edwardian England, where Lucifer Box is not only a revered painter and danddy. But, also a very active spy for King Edward's secret services, fighting his way from London to Naples to uncover a secret society plotting nothing less than the end of the modern world. There are many twists and turns, with witty dialogue Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond would have been jealous of. The plot is very fanciful and moves briskly, but Gatiss never lets a dull moment slip in. The humor is fresh and very British. There are some very kinky moments, but those are treated with taste and a sense of fun that is just irresisitible. Let's hope this is the beginning of a long series of novels. Just like James Bond, Lucifer Box will return in "The Devil in Amber" already published. Be there, before Hollywood jumps on the Lucifer Box bandwagon. Maybe Mark Gatiss has created here the Indiana Jones of the 21st Century. No small feat for a hero rubbing shoulders wth Oscar Wilde and the toast of early 20th Century London. Smashing!

The fluff that dreams are made of........2007-07-27

If you read my recent review of "The Devil in Amber," than you already know I'm a huge fan of Mark Gatiss and Lucifer Box. I'll not bother you with another tired synopsis (other's have already done that). I'll just say "The Vesuvius Club" is more then simply amusing and diverting, it's clever, titilating and wicked good fun from start to finish. I love Lucifer Box (and Charlie Jackpot for that matter) and look forward to reading more of his adventures.

RE: the graphic novel. I enjoyed the iluustrations by Ian Bass, but the story has been abridged - so, I recommend the original.

Farcical Moore-type Bond characters and plot; obscenity overdressed in big words.......2007-03-04

This starts OK with our enjoyable scarlet pimpernel dilettante character being frightfully sophisticated, and Gatiss generally does a good job playing with the irony of, say, the hero being far more concerned with tiny blood splatters ruining his linen suit than with the horribly dismembered corpse confronting him. Moreover he soon captured the feel of Conan-Doyle's turn of the century Europe, civilised private clubs of ludicrous pretentiousness and excess lounging among disease ridden hovels. After a chapter or two I was looking forward to a thriller with a comic edge in an interesting historical setting populated by charmingly eccentric/exotic/appalling characters.

Alas, having completed the book I can now recommend you stop reading fairly early and just enjoy the promise. It peaked about ten pages in, and by halfway had become a chore. We soon lose the sophistication and descend into James Bond (circa Roger Moore) farce. The sex couldn't be any more gratuitous. In fact it's beyond gratuity and yet another story with an immoral - Gatiss goes to some pains to affront/instruct anyone who might be as contemptible as to not advocate promiscuous bisexuality.

It fails on so many levels. The lead character, billed as the ultimate cunning spy, only once does something arguably clever (with plaster of paris) while far more consistently acting stupidly. Marlowe-like he just bowls on into known highly dangerous places without a plan, but in contrast he has no wit or core nobility to excuse this. Alternatively he blithely exucutes an unsuspecting, unarmed man as he dines, having his staff clean up the body: did I miss what was particularly dashing and entertaining here? The villains are lifted straight from Batman (TV, not film), as is the absurd climax (and don't even start me on the groan-inducing, forehead smacking twist revelation at the end). Maybe, just maybe, some of this could have been successful as wry satire, but Gatiss seems to want us to glorify this derivative mess as some sort of `plot'.

Stephen Fry praises the book for its depravity, something I can't enjoy in either his or Gatiss' work: however even in some of his seedy books I must grudgingly acknowledge that Fry does show some superb turns of wit. I feel no compunction to acknowledge any such thing in The Vesuvius Club; indeed, if there was no homosexuality in this book I feel pretty certain Fry wouldn't have found much wit to praise in it either.

Dickens, Wilde and Bond.......2006-07-16

This is, without doubt, the weirdest book that I've ever read. Try to imagine a mixture of James Bond, complete with a government license to kill, a cast of characters with Dickensian names like Jocelyn Poop and Tom Bowler, and an Oscar Wilde dandy, complete with an orchid in his button hole(except that this one is openly bi-sexual), and immerse the whole scene in the foggy, filthy London of the early 20th century, complete with cab chases and bawdy houses. Then take a massive step away from that into a sci-fi scenario of Naples at the foot of Mt.Vesuvius, and home to a brothel and opium den which caters to the most depraved tastes and is peopled, in the background, by zombies, serving a crazed master who plans to ignite the volcano, seeking revenge for a supposedly wronged father. The writing is rather elegant but the subject matter reminds me of the old serials one saw at the pictures on a Saturday afternoon, where the backgrounds were quite obviously made of papiermache. It was all a bit much for this reader!

Strangest Book Ever.......2006-07-12

This is one of the most bizarre novels I've ever read. The novel starts off very well--witty, light, very British, and poised to be a good historical mystery/thriller. However, almost exactly halfway through, the author introduces mysterious purple gasses, a race of half robot, half zombie people, and an Austin Powers type plan to destroy all of Italy (remember Dr. Evil's Preparation H, with the chain-reaction volcanic eruptions? Yeah, that one). I'm still wondering how the setting switched from turn of the (19th) century England to sci-fi Italy, as well as how the fantastically technical doomsday plan was supposed to be carried out without the aid of modern machinery and computers. I just don't understand how a book can end so very far away from where it began.

I would only recommend this book as a joke gift or as an example to use when studying plot trends or shifting genres and things like that.

Average customer rating:

Good except typos

Detailed and well written

Very Informative

PRUSSIA'S GLORY: Rossbach and Leuthen
Christopher Duffy
Manufacturer: Emperor's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
18th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books
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Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library)

EMPEROR'S LAST VICTORY: Napoleon and the Battle of Wagram

The Austrian Army 1740-80 (1): Cavalry (Men-at-Arms)

The Wars of German Unification (Modern Wars)

ASIN: 1883476291

Book Description

They called it Prussia's Glory. Rossbach and Leuthen are included in the Great Battles of History. Frederick made himself one of the Great Captains by these victories. Prussian military prowess became legendary.

But the Franco-German army swept away at Rossbach, and the Austrian army routed at Leuthen, were not only larger and had a fair share of professional soldiers, but the Austrians had beaten the Prussians not long before. So how were they so humiliated? What made Frederick Great?

For more than a century people believed it was because the Prussians were just naturally suited for war. Until 1945 many Germans, and their foes, remembered how Frederick miraculously saved Prussia against overwhelming odds, by marching through the snow towards Leuthen church.

As always it was not so simple. The expert on 18th century armies, Christopher Duffy, shows why French, Austrian and Reichsarmee soldiers, though often enough brave and skilful, marched to defeat, and how Frederick, often unaware of the legend he was creating, won these famous battles. But it is no longer left to myth, but to reliable accounts of hard fighting, quick decisions, and the fate of the soldiers and civilians swept up by the fighting.

Customer Reviews:

Good except typos.......2005-05-26

This relatively short book is a well written account of Frederick's greatest and most important successes. It includes battle accounts as complete as perhaps we can ever hope for, and it is aided by excellent topographical maps and panoramic photos. The sorry state of the Reichesarmee is detailed, which explains much of Frederick's success at Rossbach. Although there are typographical errors, the book is a valuable addition to any military history buff's library.

Detailed and well written.......2004-06-10

Christopher Duffy is without doubt the top expert of Frederick's campaings and this book is the best one can find about the battles of Rossbach and Leuthen. The maps are excellent, the text holds the reader's interest and the description of the personalities involved are unforgettable. A small minus of the book is the great number of annoying typographical errors.

Very Informative.......2003-12-23

I just finished "Prussia's Glory", and I found it to be very informative and entertaining. One often reads accounts of the Rossbach campaign, but I have never seen anything with such detail. Mr. Duffy gives us an insightful (and at times amusing) look at the Reichsarmee, a force that seems to have been assembled with the positive intention of being routed. Also included is a description of the combat of Breslau; I am not aware of any work that contains so detailed an account of this battle. Of course, the Leuthen campaign is examined in fairly good detail.

In my opinion, this is Mr. Duffy's best work yet. Having read his previous works on the Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies, what surprised me was Mr. Duffy's ability as a storyteller. Like his other works, Duffy has meticulously researched and documented this book, to such an extent that one gets the feeling he actually enjoys the often tedious task of research. Here the research really pays off buy providing detail to what is all too often a campaign that is taken for granted. I certainly hope that the forthcoming "By Force Of Arms" is as good as this book.

My only criticism would be the large number of typos that the book contains. I certainly hope that later editions of the book are checked more thoroughly. I would also suggest that the publishers bring out more works on campaigns and personalities of the 18th century. The Old Dessaur and the various campaigns in Italy would seem to be ripe areas of study.

Book Description

Throughout their entire history, the sedentary civilizations of China and Europe had to deal with nomads and "barbarians." This unique volume explores their drastically different responses: China "chose" containment while Europe "chose" expansion. Migration played a crucial role in this interaction. Issuing from two population centers, the sedentary one in the West and the nomadic one in the East, two powerful population streams confronted each other in the Eurasian Steppe. This confrontation was a crucial factor in determining patterns of Eurasian history--it destroyed existing states, created new ones, and drastically changed the balance of power. Even today, while Russian populations in Asia contract, the population pressures in China and Central Asia continue to build and are likely to spill over across the border. This book shows how we are witnessing the beginning of a new cycle of the age-old contest.

Customer Reviews:

The Role of Migration.......2005-03-04

A topnotch historian examines a very unusual aspect of Eurasian history: the interaction of several types of civilization in the Eurasian Steppe. It is very well written, destined for scholar and layman, and is a wonderful contribution to this complex subject. It is a detailed, expert, and well thought out examination of an often contradictory and hard to untangle history of migrations...

Very informative.......2002-06-13

If you have any interest in this area of study, or need a book to help you a with a term paper on this subject, this is the one for you. It has loads of information and is very well organized and written. It also has a very comprehensive bibliography, so if you need to delve further into any specific areas, there are numerous suggestions. Highly recommended.

Nomads in the Sedentary World (Curzon in Association With Iias)

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Nomads in the Sedentary World (Curzon in Association With Iias)
Anatol Khazanov
Manufacturer: RoutledgeCurzon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

17th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Nomads and the Outside World

ASIN: 0700713697

Mongols, Turks, And Others: Eurasian Nomads And The Sedentary World (Brill's Inner Asian Library)

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Mongols, Turks, And Others: Eurasian Nomads And The Sedentary World (Brill's Inner Asian Library)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9004140964

Nomads and Sedentary Societies in Medieval Eurasia (Essays on Global and Comparative History)

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Bravo!

Nomads and Sedentary Societies in Medieval Eurasia (Essays on Global and Comparative History)
Peter B. Golden
Manufacturer: Amer Historical Assn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Central Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0872291081

Customer Reviews:

Bravo!.......2000-07-02

This is an excellent book that depicts the different societies in Medieval Eurasia. At first I was hesitant about buying the book but when I did, it was the smartest thing I could have ever done! I would have given this book 5 stars however some parts were not that well developed. That's just in a couple spots though! You'll be taken into another world where you can actually feel the hardships and interacts between societies. The essays are written in such a magnificent way, it's no wonder this book is excellent! By buying this book for school or just curiosity it will be one that will sure to be in your house for a long time! A book that you'll WANT to read over and over! Enjoy!

Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomads and the Sedentary World

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Mongols, Turks, and Others: Eurasian Nomads and the Sedentary World
Reuven and Michal Biran(Editors) Amitai
Manufacturer: Brill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NDBI3W

Book Description

This book provides a unified introduction to a variety of computational algorithms for likelihood and Bayesian inference. The third edition expands the discussion of many of the techniques discussed, includes additional examples, and adds exercise sets at the end of each chapter.

Customer Reviews:

The EM Algorithm.......2006-02-27

I'm working through chapter 4 for a statistics course. I find that the book doesn't leave any holes to be filled, but begs certain important concepts to be called out. At least the concepts appear to all be present.

A brief reference book of EM algorithm, MC methods, etc. Recommended!.......2005-09-13

We used this book as a main reference in a seminar of several weeks. Totally, it is well written, without superfluous words.

[1] It describes the contents of Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, data augmentation, etc precisely.
[2] It is not too thick to make reading a boring experience.
[3] Graduate level textbook or reference book.

A waste of time and money.......2004-06-17

Don't be fooled by the appealing contents of the book. Many derivations are not clear as the author is jumping steps in the derivations with no explanations. very little attention is devoted to each topic making the coverage wide but neither deep nor clear.

As a substitue, I recommend Gelman et al. Bayesian data analysis which treats the same topics but is much more clear and better explained as well as more modern.
I got this book since this was a text book for a class, but ended up using other books and this one just gathers dust.

nice tools for likelihood and Bayesian inference.......2002-06-14

This is a very well written text that is a particularly good reference on algorithms for the professional statistician. A nice feature is that it is concise and yet thorough. Many important problems in statistics are covered and presented through the deterministic and Monte Carlo techniques. Topics covered include the item response model, missing data and Bayesian methods. Most algorithms used to find maxima of posterior distributions can also be employed for maximizing likelihood. So those preferring classical inference can get a lot out of this book as well as the Bayesians.

The orientation is toward the Bayesian approach however, with good coverage of prior and posterior distributions, conjugate priors and Bayesian Hierarchical Models. The last chapter on Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods is mostly used for Bayesian inference.

This is a great reference source but can also be used in a graduate level course on mathematical statistics, probably as a supplemental text. There are many useful exercises in this edition. The book is fairly advanced and presupposes an introduction to mathematical statistics at the level of the text by Bickel and Doksum. It also assumes that the reader has had some introduction to Bayesian methods but only at the level of, say, Box and Tiao's text. It does not assume any knowledge of stochastic processes including Markov chains.

Convergence properties for the Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms (MCMC) are crucial to their success. Elements of discrete Markov chains are introduced in chapter 6 to make the algorithms understandable, but proof of convergence are avoided because they would involve a more detailed account of Markov chain theory.

Tanner provides a good list of the references that were available in 1996. The research in MCMC methods is continuing to be intense and so there are many good references that have appeared since the publication of this book. Robert and Casella (1999) provides a more detailed and more current treatment but even that book is a couple of years dated.

The EM and data augmentation algorthms are used for problems that are classified as missing data problems. The data may be missing as in a survey where particular questions are not answered by the respondents or it could be censored data as in a medical study or clinical trial. The censored data problem is illustrated by Tanner using the Stanford Heart Transplant data. Mixture models are also handled via these algorithms since the identification of the component that the observation belongs to can be viewed as missing data.

Tanner demonstrates a wide variety of techniques to handle many important problems and he illustrates them on real data. It is nice to have all of this compactly written in just 200 pages!

Good book on EM algorithm and Data Augmentation.......2000-06-21

The book covers EM algorithm and Data Augmentation very good, and gives some info on MCMC. Very good reference book.

Book Description

Despite approval by Congress and the Bush administration and over seven billion dollars already spent, the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site for disposal of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel is not yet in operation. The reasons for the delay lie not only in citizen and activist opposition to the project but also in the numerous scientific and technical issues that remain unresolved. Although many scientists favor geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste, there are substantial unknowns in projecting the performance of a site over the tens to hundreds of thousands of years that may be required by Environmental Protection Agency standards. Uncertainty Underground is the first effort to review the uncertainties in the analysis of the long-term performance of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. The book does not pass judgment on the suitability of the site but provides reliable science-based information to support open debate and inquiry into its safety.

Experts from the geosciences, industry, and government review different aspects of the repository system, focusing on the uncertainties inherent in each. After an overview of the historical and regulatory context, the contributors investigate external factors (including climate change and volcanic activity) that could affect repository performance and then turn to topics concerning the repository itself. These include hydrologic issues, the geological conditions with which the nuclear waste in the repository would interact, and the predicted behavior of the different kinds of waste and waste package materials. Uncertainty Underground succeeds in making these important technical issues understandable to a wide audience, including policymakers and the general public.

Customer Reviews:

Disturbing your Sleep.......2007-05-19

I work in the field and yet, I found the revelations in book to be disturbing. It is professionally and objectively done. It is not an alarmist call to action, but rather a thoughtful description of what has been done, what is being done and what could be done about high-level nuclear waste.

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