Sketches of an Elephant: A Topos Theory Compendium 2 Volume Set (Oxford Logic Guides) [Hardcover]

Peter T. Johnstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2003 | ISBN-10: 019852496X | ISBN-13: 978-0198524960

Topos Theory is a subject that stands at the junction of geometry, mathematical logic and theoretical computer science, and it derives much of its power from the interplay of ideas drawn from these different areas. Now available in this two volume set, it contains all the important information both volumes provides. Considered to be a complete benefit for all researchers and academics in theoretical computer science, logicians and philosophers who study the foundations of mathematics, and those working in differential geometry and continuum physics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This compendium contains material that was previously available only in specialist journals. This is likely to become the standard reference work for all those interested in the subject.' ? News (The Newsletter for Philosophical Logic and Its Applications)

About the Author

Dr P.T. Johnstone Reader in the Foundations of Mathematics Dept of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics University of Cambridge Cambridge CB3 0BW

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1284 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019852496X
• ISBN-13: 978-0198524960
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 3.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,795,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy call, July 23, 2003

By 

Colin McLarty (Chardon, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sketches of an Elephant: A Topos Theory Compendium 2 Volume Set (Oxford Logic Guides) (Hardcover)

Very simply: if you want to know a very great deal about topos theory, buy this book. I mean, seriously, if you plan to make real work on topos theory a part of your life, then grit your teeth and come up with the money. If you do not want to know a very great deal about it, do not buy this book. You can use it at the library as a reference.

If you merely want a professional understanding of what topos theory is, then read Johnstone's earlier TOPOS THEORY. That far shorter book gives a better overview. My Amazon review of it discusses others on the subject. Most are more accessible than Johnstone's books and go more into particular aspects of the theory.

This book is a reference on all the methods, and the latest results, in topos theory. If you want the definition of "split opfibration", it is here, along with some 80 pages of background, examples, and motivation. Johnstone does an heroic job of unifying the terminology and organizing the theorems.

More than that, Johnstone has written down an expert, encyclopedic view of the subject today. It is rare for a top mathematical researcher to give so deep an account of their field. It is rare for anyone to even work out such an explicit, coherent, extensive account of the whole. Not everyone will agree with his view. Some would like to see much less of such logical topics as "allegories", others would like to see the logic more formalized from the start. But Johnstone builds a case for his choices: partly implicit in his success at explaining things this way, and partly by explicit reasons.

If you want to know that much about the subject then you want to immerse yourself in this book.