Glassy Materials and Disordered Solids: An Introduction to Their Statistical Mechanics

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The physics of glassy materials and disordered solids presents students with an area of study much more challenging than the physics of crystalline solids. Written by two recognized experts in the field, this highly readable book tackles the subject with the student firmly in mind, beginning with a pedagogical introduction to important concepts such as percolation, fractals, spin glasses, and glasses. Making use of these concepts, the authors show that such systems share many common aspects that can be described within the framework of statistical mechanics. The book is also an essential standard text for researchers on amorphous materials, equally accessible for theorists and experimentalists.

Electronic Structure of Disordered Alloys, Surfaces and Interfaces

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Electronic Structure of Disordered Alloys, Surfaces and Interfaces
Ilja Turek , Václav Drchal , Josef Kudrnovský , Mojmír Sob , and Peter Weinberger
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792397983

Book Description

At present, there is an increasing interest in the prediction of properties of classical and new materials such as substitutional alloys, their surfaces, and metallic or semiconductor multilayers. A detailed understanding based on a microscopic, parameter-free approach is thus of the utmost importance for future developments in solid state physics and materials science. The purpose of this book is to provide this understanding.
Electronic Structure of Disordered Alloys, Surfaces and Interfaces consists of two major parts. The first explores the theoretical background while the second is devoted to applications. Researchers in solid state theory, surface science and computational materials research will benefit from the book's comprehensive treatment while graduate students will find this text a suitable introduction to these topics.

Atomic Diffusion in Disordered Materials: Theory and Applications

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Atomic Diffusion in Disordered Materials: Theory and Applications

Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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Binding: Hardcover

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Statistical Physics of Fracture and Breakdown in Disordered Systems (Monographs on the Physics and Chemistry of Materials, 55)

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Statistical Physics of Fracture and Breakdown in Disordered Systems (Monographs on the Physics and Chemistry of Materials, 55)
Bikas K. Chakrabarti , and L. Gilles Benguigui
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198520565

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Under extreme conditions the mechanical or electrical properties of solids tend to be destabilized and failure or breakdown occurs. In practice these instabilities in the solid often nucleate or spread from disorders in the structure of the solid. This book investigates the modelling of such failure and breakdown processes. The basic principles are illuminated with a large number of computer simulations and laboratory simulations or `table top' experiments. Three particular case studies of failure are presented: electrical failures like fuse and dielectric breakdown; mechanical fracture; and earthquakes as an example of dynamic failure.

Advances in Amorphous Semiconductors (Advances in Disordered Semiconductors)

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Advances in Amorphous Semiconductors (Advances in Disordered Semiconductors)
Hellmut Fritzsche
Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 997150619X

Amorphous Silicon and Related Materials (Advances in Disordered Semiconductors, Vol 1)

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Amorphous Silicon and Related Materials (Advances in Disordered Semiconductors, Vol 1)

Manufacturer: World Scientific Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Condensed Matter Disordered Solids

Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Disordered Materials: Science and Technology (Institute for Amorphous Studies Series)

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Disordered Materials: Science and Technology (Institute for Amorphous Studies Series)
Stadford R. Ovshinsky
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Disordered Semiconductors (Institute for Amorphous Studies Series)

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Disordered Semiconductors (Institute for Amorphous Studies Series)
Marc A. Kastner , Stadford R. Ovshinsky , and Gordon A. Thomas
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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Disordered Solids: Structures and Processes (Ettore Majorana International Science Series: Physical Sciences)

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Disordered Solids: Structures and Processes (Ettore Majorana International Science Series: Physical Sciences)
Baldassare Di Bartolo
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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If I could I'd give zero stars

Garbage

Garbage

Too Many Factual Errors Plus An Annoying Ending

Skip it!

Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl: A Novel
Winston Groom
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375501614
Release Date: 1999-02-22

Amazon.com

Apparently satiated with the gentle, homespun charms of Forrest Gump, Winston Groom enters the decidedly more menacing realm of blackmail, revenge, and torture in Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl. Readers expecting guileless and unequivocal protagonists may find themselves shocked by Groom's purview; readers looking for stylish suspense, enigmatic players, and voice-over commentary like "No trap is as deadly as the one you set for yourself" may find themselves unable to put the book down.

The girl is Los Angeles TV news anchor Delia Jamison, a still ravishing fortysomething who has strenuously and repeatedly exercised her right to leave suitors bitterly heartbroken. Oblique, seductive, and often blunt to a fault, it seems that she has begun receiving lewd and vaguely threatening letters from--she postulates--a jilted ex. Enter another former beau, Oscar-winning screenwriter Johnny Lightfoot, who fortuitously bumps into her and is captivated all over again--not only by her beauty, but also by the mystery of her tormentor. When she presents Johnny with a list of suspects (i.e., past conquests), he resolves to unmask the letter writer.

Audacious almost to the breaking point, Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl is nonetheless good fun--literary candy rife with cat-and-mouse interrogations, neon clues, and campy misdirection. Though the story becomes increasingly implausible, it also starts to mirror its vacuous heroine: as the men who are ineluctably captive to Delia's beauty know, it's nearly impossible to look away. --Ben Guterson

Book Description

Delia Jamison is a gorgeous woman of a certain age and at the pinnacle of her career as anchor of a network news show in Los Angeles. But she is being blackmailed by someone she is certain is one of her former lovers. Terrified to go to the police for fear the story will leak and cause a scandal, Delia's at her wit's end when she accidentally runs into none other than one of those former lovers, Johnny Lightfoot, whom she hasn't seen in nearly twenty years. Johnny is now an Academy Award-winning screenwriter living in New York and L.A. who feels the old emotional attraction for Delia rising again. Even though she's recently married, Delia mysteriously seems to encourage Johnny's interest.

Since she won't go to the police, Johnny agrees to help her find the culprit, which means she has to produce a list of the suspects. And what a list it is: moguls on the New York Stock Exchange, fancy lawyers, a stellar Ivy League professor--even a United States senator. As Johnny's investigation delves deeper into Delia's past, it exposes more than he ever wanted to know; meanwhile, the blackmailer rachets up his dangerous game. As the story moves to its frightening climax, Johnny Lightfoot finds himself entangled in a web of deceit and savage sexual violence that makes him wonder if he ever really knew Delia at all.

Customer Reviews:

If I could I'd give zero stars.......2006-03-01

As many have already said, this book is just plain bad. Right from the beginning it was a big bore. Not a page-turner for me. I stopped reading about a quarter of the way through. So happy I didn't pay for it (library)!!

Garbage.......2001-04-17

This book is not worth reading, not worth carrying home from the store, and not worth the money I paid. How could anyone enjoy a book without a single likeable character.

Garbage.......2001-04-17

This book is not worth reading, not worth carrying home from the store, and not worth the money I paid. How could anyone enjoy a book without a single likeable character.

Too Many Factual Errors Plus An Annoying Ending.......2000-07-12

This book contains some simple factual errors that make one doubt the concentration of both author and editor. For example, on page 131 the arithmetic is all wrong. The original payment to the service was $180 per hour and Delia got $60 of that. The subsequent direct payments to Delia's post office box were $50 per hour, which is certainly not 3 times $60 as stated. Seems she actually gave herself a cut in pay, which might also be appropriate for the author/editor. The suspense of waiting until the end of the book for revelation of 'what Delia did' kept me interested through some rather repetitious and boring episodes. However - there was no revelation! The secret was never revealed to the poor sucker reading the book. I was annoyed by this at the time, and still am a day later. I can only be grateful that I got this book from the library and didn't spend any money on it.

Skip it!.......1999-10-21

As I love a good suspense novel, I bought this book based on the jacket synopsis and was deeply disappointed when I finished reading it. I found all of the characters completely unlikeable and underdeveloped, and towards the end I didn't care WHO was blackmailing Delia. I also found it completely unbelievable that every man Johnny spoke with during his investigation had no problem immediately opening up to him about Delia. It's implausible that each would share intimate details to a complete stranger who thinks they may be a blackmailer! I, too, found the movie character/actor references annoying. Finally, I was perturbed that the author chose not to reveal Delia's secret sexual "tricks" after going on and on about them throughout the book (couldn't think of anything spicy enough?) In all, I found this book to be boring and not quite the page-turner I was hoping for. If you want a real sexual, suspenseful, who-done-it, check out Romeo by Elise Title.

Average customer rating:

hooked on phonics
Missing the best part of Persuasion
Talented Writer, but Difficult To Like Heroine
ok
A cute, modern love story that avoids being chick-lit!

Such a Girl: A Novel
Karen V. Siplin
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743475550

Book Description

Karen Siplin, whose first novel, His Insignificant Other, earned her critical praise from her peers and fans, presents Such a Girl -- a sexy and engaging new novel. In Such a Girl, Siplin brings to vivid life the story of a woman who ends a love affair for the "right" reasons, only to have a chance at beginning again years later.

Nine years ago, Kendall Stark ended a relationship with the love of her life. As her college friends never tired of telling her, Jack was going nowhere fast. Now Kendall is thirty-one, working as an operator at a prestigious New York hotel and listening in on the personal calls of the celebrity guests, while she carries on a doomed affair with a married colleague. And while deep down she knows she should be leading a more fulfilling life, Kendall believes she is content with the choices she has made.

Until the morning Jack reappears. Only now, Jack is the wealthy owner of a New England brewery, and he's staying in the hotel where Kendall works. His unexpected return leads her to rethink all the assumptions she ever made about success, love, and happiness and forces Jack to decide if he can ever forgive the woman who broke his heart so many years ago.

Just as Bridget Jones's Diary did for Pride and Prejudice, Karen Siplin here updates (and shakes up) the premise of Jane Austen's Persuasion, placing the characters in a modern, multicultural landscape. The daily intrigues of a luxury hotel provide the perfect backdrop for exploring the subtle (and overt) caste systems that still persist. Part romantic comedy, part social commentary, and imbued with the wit and contemporary urban sensibilities that Siplin displayed in her acclaimed debut, Such a Girl is an exciting and thoroughly entertaining new novel from a talent to watch.

Customer Reviews:

hooked on phonics.......2007-08-25

This book sucked. I felt like I was reading one of those hooked on phonics books for kids. The narration was simple and irritating. The characters were undeveloped. The story line would have been great, written by another author.

Missing the best part of Persuasion.......2006-08-01

Like many others who also posted reviews, I was drawn to this book as it is a modernization of "Persuasion." I think that I would have liked it more if I hadn't been looking for the Persuasion storyline, because it really let me down there. In this book, its obvious from an early point in the story that Jack is back for Kendall, whereas in Austen' story, we never find out Wentworth is back from Anne until that breathtaking moment when he writes her that letter, "You pierce my soul." "Such a Girl" is missing any such beauty, and I also really missed having a character like Anne's elderly friend who was primarily resposnsible for persuasing her to break things off with Wentworth. In "Such a Girl", her friends fill the roles of Anne's family who are won over by the new Jack, but we never see the one friend from the past who is never won over.

I also agree that Kendall is an extremely unlikable person, with no sympathy, no personality, no ambitions at all, and sleeping with a married man.

Talented Writer, but Difficult To Like Heroine.......2006-05-24

This is a modern re-telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion and it's very well-written, witty, and poignant. I wouldn't say it's quite as good as the two other modern adaptations of Persuasion that I've read (*Jane Austen in Scarsdale* and *Persuading Annie*) but Karen Siplin is obviously a talented writer and she makes the material her own.

My one criticism is that unlike the original story, the heroine of this tale, (Kendall), doesn't really meet her hero (Jack) halfway. One of the nice things about Persuasion is the way in which Anne and Captain Wentworth long for each other equally, make the same number of misunderstandings about each other, and reveal their lingering feelings and vulnerabilities to each other at about the same time. In that way, they seem on equal ground. They both have regrets; they both long for each other; they both finally reveal their hearts in a way that is very satisfying for the reader.

But in Such a Girl, Jack makes an ardent pursuit of a very resistant, confused, and lost Kendall. It was hard to read about Jack (and other men in the novel as well) basically falling all over Kendall when she was such a mess. In Persuasion, Anne is full of regret and longing; Kendall just seemed angry, defensive, and confused most of the time, making it hard to root for her to reunite with a very patient and devoted Jack. The end, in particular, felt more like a concession than a reunion of true loves.

This is not to say Such a Girl should have mimicked the original novel in all things. I like modern re-tellings and am not an Austen purist. But I definitely wanted Kendall to exhibit more vulnerability and longing, and to have been more likeable. Not less flawed-- flawed heroines are plenty likeable-- but more sympathetic.

ok.......2006-05-06

This is the story of Kendall who works at a hotel, Kendall's ex boyfriend; Jack ends up staying at the hotel with a new girlfriend. Kendall and Jack still have feelings for each other, and try not to act on those feelings. Kendall was also having a relationship with a married co-worker. She also made other decisions in the book that I thought was careless on her part. I guess the book was okay, I felt that something was missing; it was just okay for me.

A cute, modern love story that avoids being chick-lit! .......2005-12-30

Kendall Stark is the lovely, underachieving heroine of the novel. Kendall is a telephone operator at a very high-end hotel in New York City, where she barely gets along with most of her coworkers, except for the cute married coworker that she sleeps with from time to time. She's single, in debt, and lives with a roommate who is also an old college friend. Then a blast from the past walks into her life - the love of her college life, Jack Sullivan. The twist: Kendall broke his heart nine years ago, when her friends persuaded her that Jack was simply a bad boy who was headed nowhere in life. Either because she believed her friends or because she was scared at the intensity of the relationship, she let Jack go. Now, she barely knows how to face him.

Years later, only one of these college friends has actually done something successful with his life, and the rest, including Kendall are broke and without any visible career. But Jack Sullivan is a millionaire. And suddenly he's staying at the hotel in which Kendall works, reconnecting with Kendall's friends from college - who never liked him when he was broke - all with the unstated and slightly benign purpose of throwing his success and wealth in their faces.

From the beginning of this cute tale to the end, I have two recurring thoughts. One: How does a college graduate wind up working as a hotel switchboard operator nine years after graduation? Just how in the world did Kendall Stark get there, and didn't she ever want to be anywhere else? And it isn't the fact that she's broke - because many, many college graduates live check-to-check and can barely afford to pay rent. But Kendall she has a college degree, and she answers phones! That just seemed crazy to me. She doesn't appear to have plans or aspirations to do anything else. My second recurring thought: Kendall Stark = K.S. = Karen Siplin. Is there an element of autobiography here, or pure coincidence?

Overall, I enjoyed the book. My confusion about Kendall's complete lack of professional ambition really blurred the comparison between Such a Girl and Jane Austen's "Persuasion." I understood how a Jane Austen heroine could have no professional ambition or a career. The part of the plot doesn't transfer to this day and age.

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