Browse Books

Reviewer: Charles William Nestor

The authors state in their preface that “This is a `how-to-do-it' book for people who want to use computers to simulate the behavior of atomic and molecular liquids. We hope that it will be useful to first-year graduate students, research workers in industry and academia, and teachers and lecturers who want to use the computer to illustrate the way liquids behave.” This volume is the 1989 paperback edition of a book first published in 1987. In general, the authors have succeeded in their aims. It is clear, however, that the field has not stood still since the publication of the first edition, and although some effort has been made to update the book, much more remains to be done in the preparation of a second edition. Many new developments in both hardware and software have rendered several computation-oriented aspects of the book obsolete. I noted a few misspellings (such as in a person's name, where “Conveyou” appears for “Coveyou”). My overall impression, however, is one of a well-written and carefully produced work. The print quality is excellent. The cover of the review copy was almost detached from the body of the book, but this may be a reflection on the US Mail rather than on the publisher. I recommend this book without reservation, and hope that a revised edition is in the works.