Discover Affordable Dover Books at Your Local Bookstore | Find Them in Chicago!

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In summary, the conversation is about the availability and love for Dover books, as well as tips for buying them. It is suggested to check with local bookstores first and to take advantage of free shipping on Amazon by purchasing multiple books. Specific book recommendations are also given.
  • #1
daster
[SOLVED] Dover books

I know I can find Dover books on Amazon, but are they also available from normal book stores? My friend's going to Chicago in a couple of days, and I'd thought I'd ask him for a few books I've wanted. If I buy them online, I'm going to have to pay a rather hefty shipping fee. :frown:

Thanks
 
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  • #2
Any decent bookshop will probably be more than happy to special order books that aren't in stock for a customer. But if your friend is only going to be there for a few days the bookstore might not be able to get the books in time. Some bookstores (Borders being my favourite) do stock some Dover titles. I've found Borders usually stocks more than another large chain bookstore. I'd recommend having your friend go there first to look for the books you want. Or just go to your nearest friendly bookseller and hand them a list of the titles you're interested in and have them order them for you.

I love Dover books.
 
  • #3
imabug said:
I love Dover books.
I second that!

Thanks for your help, imabug. :biggrin:
 
  • #4
www.doverbooks.com is the website. I tend to peruse it at least monthly to see what is new. I found that both of Micheal Tinkhams' books, "Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics" and "Introduction to Superconductivity" have been picked up along with Messiahs' "Quantum Mechanics". Tinkhams' book taught me more group theory than I ever thought I'd need, matter a fact I used quite a bit of it in my dissertation. It is better to buy these books at either Borders or Barnes and Noble because the shipping is so much less.
 
  • #5
If you buy even one book from them online you will get emails about sales and catalogs through your snail mail forever. I currently have eyes for their featured book on the Riemann conjecture; it covers the technical math on the subject from Riemann up to maybe 15 years ago. I don't know if I'm going to buy it or not.
 
  • #6
Caution Dover Fanatic Here!

During this last year I've order over 45 books from Amazon. Most of them are Dover publications, the rest are Schaum's Outlines.

I'm an Amazon, Dover, Schaum's addict!

The Dover books are just so reasonably priced! I'd typically buy about 4 of them on a each topic that I'm interested in than one high-priced textbook. That way I get four different perspectives on each topic. I also include a Schaum's Outline or two on the same topic for examples of solved problems.

I think it's important to understand that I'm totally doing self-study so I don’t have any instructors to ask. I find that working through 3 or 4 books concurrently on any particular topic usually gives me a wide enough perspective that I don't have any many questions. One of the books usually answers any questions that I was left wondering about by others,…

I also find that some authors are more abstract while others tend to use more geometric or phenomenological approaches so I get a wider view of the topics in that sense as well. Or course, I also spent a lot of time reading customer reviews and the online table of contents and excerpts that Amazon makes available on their website so I can be sure to chose books that have different points of view.

I have yet to pay shipping on any of my book orders because I always order enough books to qualify for free shipping. I don't recall what it takes to qualify but I always qualify. Or sometimes I add an printer cartridge to the order or something like that. I figure it's better to order something I need and get free shipping than to pay for the shipping. :eek:)

I've found the Dover book Ordinary Differential Equations by Tenenbaum & Pollard to be the best self-study book on ODEs that I've ever found. It takes you step-by-step from scratch with ODEs with nice problem sets and complete answers to every problem right in the section you are working with. It's laid out in lessons instead of chapters. It's really nice for someone starting out with ODEs. :smile:

I also highly recommend Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics by Byron & Fuller, but I don't recommend it as a beginner's book. It's definitely a first-year graduate book. Do Tenenbaum first,.. :wink:

Well, I better quit now or I'll have listed every Dover book that I own! :biggrin:

By the way, I never get any spam email from Amazon. Just be sure to uncheck the box requesting promotional emails when you place your order. Should you forget to uncheck that box you can always cancel the promotional emails when you receive the first one by just clicking on the link to cancel them. I love Amazon, but I prefer to go to their site at my convenience so I never request their promotional emails. But you do have to uncheck that box each time you order.

I also never got a catalog from Amazon via snail mail. Hmmm? Actually I think that'd be cool. :smile:
 
  • #7
selfAdjoint said:
I currently have eyes for their featured book on the Riemann conjecture; it covers the technical math on the subject from Riemann up to maybe 15 years ago. I don't know if I'm going to buy it or not.

Which book are you referring too? I can only think of Ivic's from Dover that recently. I was very pleased when they put it back in print at such a nice price, though I was a little dissapointed that they just stuck in errata pages rather than fix the typos (and there were quite a few in the original). I also wish Ivic had updated it, at least the notes at the end of the chapters. Dover also has Edward's (older) book very cheap. It's follows the theory more along historical lines and is worth it simply for the translation of Riemann's original paper it contains.
 
  • #8
I recently visited one of my old profs, J.W. Lee, who is one of the authors of book. He was pretty happy with the way Dover works. He, as the author, retains all rights to the book, Dover pays a one time licensing fee, and is able to keep in publication at reasonable prices, books like his, that are not in large volume demand.
 
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  • #9
NeutronStar, another Dover fanatic here!

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for free shipping because I don't live in the states. :frown:
 
  • #10
daster said:
NeutronStar, another Dover fanatic here!

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for free shipping because I don't live in the states. :frown:

Hmmmmm, …. I'm so used to living in Amazon dot com space that I wasn't thinking in terms of any effects that spatial transformations could have on the phenomenon of free shipping. Evidently the probability of observing free shipping drops to zero discontinuously at the borders of the U.S and remains zero everywhere outside those borders. Within the U.S. the probability of observing free shipping is apparently directly proportional to the degree of fanaticism of the purchaser.

I wonder if this is a reflection of the underlying quantum nature of the Amazon dot com management?

You could write to Amazon dot com and ask if they will consider sending you the books free via a momentary fluxuation of their field policies thus permitting them to tunnel the books to you through the discontinuous borders of their free-shipping policy.

While there exists a high probability that their field policies will be unaffected by your letter, there is always some hope that there exists some probability that, if worded ingeniously enough, and read by the right person, your letter could have an observable affect in the real world.

I know,…

I've been reading too many Dover books! :biggrin:
 
  • #11
shmoe said:
Which book are you referring too? I can only think of Ivic's from Dover that recently. I was very pleased when they put it back in print at such a nice price, though I was a little dissapointed that they just stuck in errata pages rather than fix the typos (and there were quite a few in the original). I also wish Ivic had updated it, at least the notes at the end of the chapters. Dover also has Edward's (older) book very cheap. It's follows the theory more along historical lines and is worth it simply for the translation of Riemann's original paper it contains.

The book I'm considering is Riemann's Zeta Function by H. M. Edwards.

Chapter titles: 1.Riemann's paper. 2. The product formula for [tex]\zeta[/tex]. 3. Riemann's Mass Formula. 4.The Prime Number Theorem. 5.De la Valee Poussin's Theorem. 6. Numerical Analysis of the Roots by Euler-MacLaurin Summation. 7.The Riemann-Siegel Formula. 8.Large-Scale Computations. 9. The growth of [tex]\zeta[/tex] as [tex]t \rightarrow \infty[/tex]. 10.Fourier Analysis. 11. Zeros on the Line. 12. Miscellany.
 
  • #12
Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics

I would like to second this book by Frederick W. Byron, Jr and Robert W. Fuller. It has an excellent introduction of "Differential Operations on Scalar and Vector Fields", which discusses the significance of the gradient, divergence and curl. There is also a brief introduction of "Cartesian Tensors".

Probably a great book for getting the novice's feet wet.

I am another Dover book collector.

I also collect some of the Springer-Verlag (yellow/gold) series.
 
  • #13
Astronuc said:
I also collect some of the Springer-Verlag (yellow/gold) series.

Are they still called "the yellow peril" as when I was in grad school? In those days they were noticibly "purer" (=drier + harder) than other texts. Since then they have developed some really good writers.
 
  • #14
Check out Springer On-line

http://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,5-10042-580-1181035-DISPLAY_TYPE%253DDISPLAY_TYPE_TITLES%2526RESULTS_PER_PAGE%253D10%2526resultStart%253D0,00.html

I have collected books in the 'yellow peril' series during my grad school days somewhen in the past.

I have not yet browsed one of the modern books, but I suspect that they are still for the serious student or professor.
 
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  • #15
They are about as dry and as confusing as they come.
 
  • #16
I've found more Dover Physics and Math books at Barnes and Noble than at Borders. My new strategy for book buying is to browse through them in libraries and bookstores, make up my mind and then order online. Requires patience and delayed gratification, I know, :redface: but saves $$ in the long run!
 
  • #17
Buy just one book from them online and you'll get their catalogs forever, not to mention their specials by email.
 
  • #18
Astronuc said:
Check out Springer On-line

http://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,5-10042-580-1181035-DISPLAY_TYPE%253DDISPLAY_TYPE_TITLES%2526RESULTS_PER_PAGE%253D10%2526resultStart%253D0,00.html

I have collected books in the 'yellow peril' series during my grad school days somewhen in the past.

I have not yet browsed one of the modern books, but I suspect that they are still for the serious student or professor.

lol :rofl: I'm not surprised that they got the name 'yellow peril'. i had hungerford's algebra book last fall, which was mental. it's got pretty much everything that's known in algebra in there, but rarely does he prove something completely. usually he just gives a 'sketch of proof'. it's not always a problem but there were times when i really wished he'd given more details, or more examples. 'yellow peril' indeed... lol
 
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1. What are the benefits of purchasing Dover Books at my local bookstore?

Purchasing Dover Books at your local bookstore supports small businesses and promotes a sense of community. Additionally, you can browse and physically see the books before purchasing, rather than relying on online descriptions and reviews.

2. Are the prices of Dover Books at local bookstores more affordable than online retailers?

Yes, local bookstores often offer discounts and promotions on Dover Books, making them more affordable than online retailers. Plus, you can avoid shipping costs by purchasing in-store.

3. Are there any special deals or sales on Dover Books at Chicago bookstores?

It varies by bookstore, but many Chicago bookstores have sales and promotions on Dover Books throughout the year. It's always worth checking with your local bookstore to see if they have any special deals.

4. Can I find all Dover Books at my local bookstore in Chicago?

While most local bookstores carry a wide selection of Dover Books, it ultimately depends on the store's inventory. It's always best to call ahead or check their website to see what books they have in stock.

5. Are there any benefits to buying Dover Books in-store rather than online?

In-store purchases allow you to support local businesses and avoid shipping costs. Additionally, you can physically see the books and potentially discover new titles that you may not have come across online.

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