Synopses & Reviews
This second edition is an invaluable textbook for anyone who would like an introduction to the modern theories of catastrophies and singularities.
Review
"This delightfully written book overflows with beautiful mathematics, requiring only linear algebra, multi-variable calculus, and a little mathematical sophistication." The American Mathematical Monthly
Table of Contents
1. Introductory example: a gravitational catastrophe machine; 2. Curves, and functions on them; 3. More about functions; 4. Regular values and smooth manifolds; 5. Envelopes; 6. Unfoldings; 7. Unfoldings: applications; 8. Transversality; 9. Generic properties of curves; 10. More on unfoldings; 11. Singular points, several variables and generic surfaces; Appendix: Null sets and Sardâs theorem.