home > book reviews > Warren Weaver
Google > Warren Weaver


Books

Short works

Books : reviews

Claude E. Shannon, Warren Weaver.
The Mathematical Theory of Communication.
University of Illinois Press. 1949

Scientific knowledge grows at a phenomenal pace—but few books have had as lasting an impact or played as important a role in our modern world as The Mathematical Theory of Communication, published originally as a paper on communication theory more than fifty years ago. Republished in book form shortly thereafter, it has since gone through four hardcover and sixteen paperback printings. It is a revolutionary work, astounding in its foresight and contemporaneity. The University of Illinois Press is pleased and honored to issue this [1998] commemorative reprinting of a classic.

From the Preface:

The first paper [Weaver, Some Recent Contributions to the Mathematical Theory of Communication] has not previously been printed in its present form, although a condensation appeared in Scientific American, July, 1949. In part, it consists of an expository introduction to the panoramic view of the field before entering into the more mathematical aspects. In addition, some ideas are suggested for broader application of the fundamental principles of communication theory.

The second paper [Shannon, The Mathematical Theory of Communication] is reprinted from the Bell System Technical Journal, July and October, 1948, with no changes except the correction of minor errata and the inclusion of some additional references.

Warren Weaver.
Lady Luck.
Pelican. 1963

(read but not reviewed)

From Craps to Probability Curves, Montmort’s Problem to the St Petersburg Paradox, this book traces the highways and byways of Dame Fortune in all her aspects. Never was Lady Luck so well portrayed – her curves, her vital statistics, her chances and your chances. Warren Weaver gives a practical and readable account of the probability theory and the statistics of chance and shows that fortune, luck, chance or probability, whatever you call it, need not be coy or elusive, for reason, logic and the mathematical laws of chance can reduce the odds. The historical background is thoroughly described with a skill that is at once humorous and informative.

If you are interested – or hooked on the elements of chance – whether as businessman, economist, gambler or simply a games-player, then you will enjoy and benefit from the many and varied chance-encounters in this book.