When Ray Howard entered high school, he was determined to be a priest in the Catholic Church. After five years, he experienced his first bipolar episode and was forced to give up his vocation. After completing a master's program at Loyola University, he began his teaching career. With the aid of lithium, he was able to complete a master's degree in psychology and became a psychologist. He came out as gay after much soul-searching. In spite of being bipolar and gay, Ray was able to be successful in two careers and retire at sixty-seven. Upon his retirement, he began his writing career and not only wrote his autobiography, but also, he has written the screenplay for his novel. These are his first efforts in writing, but they won't be his last. He is now working on a book about his education in the liberal arts. He lives in Los Angeles and is working on making Knots Revisited into a full-length movie.

A richly illustrated 2004 textbook on knot theory; minimal prerequisites but modern in style and content.

“Mr. Petit is the perfect teacher” in this fascinating, educational volume on knot-tying—an art and science that has held civilization together (The Wall Street Journal). Philippe Petit is known for his astounding feat of daring when, on August 7, 1974, he stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City. But beyond his balance, courage, and showmanship, there was one thing Petit had to be absolutely certain of—his knots. Without the confidence that his knots would hold, he never would have left the ground. In fact, while most of us don’t think about them beyond tying our shoelaces, the humble knot is crucial in countless contexts, from sailing to sports to industrial safety to art, agriculture, and more. In this truly unique book, Petit offers a guide to tying over sixty of his essential knots, with practical sketches illustrating his methods and clear tying instructions. Filled with photos in which special knots were used during spectacular high-wire walks, quirky knot trivia, personal anecdotes, helpful tips, magic tricks, and special tying challenges, Why Knot? will entertain and educate readers of all ages. “In reading Philippe’s book we are cogently reminded that without the ability to secure a rope, or tether a goat, or make fast the sheets of a galley, much of the civilization that we take for granted would disappear as easily as a slipknot in the hands of a Vegas conjuror.” —Sting, musician and activist “His descriptions are clear, he deploys humor frequently and he makes his points with anecdotes that are colorful and memorable. Explaining the purpose and creation of knots and thanks to those flawless drawings Mr. Petit earns perfect marks.” —The Wall Street Journal

This book is an elementary introduction to knot theory. Unlike many other books on knot theory, this book has practically no prerequisites; it requires only basic plane and spatial Euclidean geometry but no knowledge of topology or group theory. It contains the first elementary proof of the existence of the Alexander polynomial of a knot or a link based on the Conway axioms, particularly the Conway skein relation. The book also contains an elementary exposition of the Jones polynomial, HOMFLY polynomial and Vassiliev knot invariants constructed using the Kontsevich integral. Additionally, there is a lecture introducing the braid group and shows its connection with knots and links. Other important features of the book are the large number of original illustrations, numerous exercises and the absence of any references in the first eleven lectures. The last two lectures differ from the first eleven: they comprise a sketch of non-elementary topics and a brief history of the subject, including many references.

An acclaimed artist celebrates the creative possibilities of macramé and knots in this memoir and guide featuring projects and tutorials. Every day for a year, artist Windy Chien learned to tie a new kind of knot and then shared the results on Instagram—a project that both reinvented her life and revolutionized knot art. In The Year of Knots, Chien describes how knot-making led her on a path of discovery. She shares projects, tutorials, and transformative personal stories, all aimed at inspiring readers to make knotting—and creativity in general—part of a meditative daily practice. The knots in this book are gorgeously documented step-by-step. Knotted projects abound—from wall hangings to a necklace, a dog leash, a hanging light, and more. At the heart of the story is the simple, empowering idea that a single year is all the time you need to make a life-changing creative leap.

Eros Revisited rethinks the desire for the other through philosophical, poetical, and psychological inquiry. Dr. Isaac B. Rosler draws from the works of Plato, Butler, and Derrida to explore the unreadability of Eros's enigma and the desire to address its mystery through assertive and noncontradictory discourse, resulting in the modern objectification of Eros into defined sexual orientations. With the rise of the concept of the Freudian ego, Eros is heterosexualized and the indeterminate love for the other falls into oblivion. In an attempt to revisit Eros as a metaphysical enigma, Dr. Rosler demonstrates the necessity of turning toward the mythical grounds of the desiring-ego and the roots of philosophical dialectic thinking. This book turns toward the withdrawing enigma of Eros toward the most radical aspect of friendship and love. Eros Revisited offers an examination of the oblivious metaphysical remains of Eros and will appeal to those interested in cultural studies and literary theory.

Bringing a sociological perspective to state law and legal theory, this book uses Weber's work as the foundation for a critical reassessment of Hart's theory of law. It presents three central problems in the theory of law--the problem of perspective, the problem of reductionism, and the tendency to obscure relativity. These are addressed from the standpoint of a critical legal positivism. Ross teaches law at the Napier University School of Law in Edinburgh. Distributed by ISBS. c. Book News Inc.