How Nature Works: the science of self-organized criticality by Per Bak
Self-organized criticality, the spontaneous development of systems to a critical state, is the first general theory of complex systems with a firm mathematical basis. This theory describes how many seemingly desperate aspects of the world, from stock market crashes to mass extinctions, avalanches to solar flares, all share a set of simple, easily described properties.
...a'must read'...Bak writes with such ease and lucidity, and his ideas are so intriguing...essential reading for those interested in complex systems...it will reward a sufficiently skeptical reader. -NATURE
...presents the theory (self-organized criticality) in a form easily absorbed by the non-mathematically inclined reader. -BOSTON BOOK REVIEW
I picture Bak as a kind of scientific musketeer; flamboyant, touchy, full of swagger and ready to join every fray... His book is written with panache. The style is brisk, the content stimulating. I recommend it as a bracing experience. -NEW SCIENTIST
...a'must read'...Bak writes with such ease and lucidity, and his ideas are so intriguing...essential reading for those interested in complex systems...it will reward a sufficiently skeptical reader. -NATURE
...presents the theory (self-organized criticality) in a form easily absorbed by the non-mathematically inclined reader. -BOSTON BOOK REVIEW
I picture Bak as a kind of scientific musketeer; flamboyant, touchy, full of swagger and ready to join every fray... His book is written with panache. The style is brisk, the content stimulating. I recommend it as a bracing experience. -NEW SCIENTIST