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Rating: 
Summary: Loved it.
Review: A good book, but it's kind of deep if you are not a Math major. I'm an Engineer and a Computer Scientist, and while it was not as tough as Calculus book, it was not light reading. But hey- Any book that considers God and Newton, in the same chapter is not a coffee table book. Stewart's writing and the thoughts presented require serious thought, and a pad and pencil at your side are clearly helpful here. It is refreshing to see that writers like Stewart recognize the clarity of great thinkers like Newton, and Einstein, et al. and their recognition of God.
Rating: 
Summary: An intelligent non-technical introduction to chaos.
Review: Being a physicist I frequently get bored with "science for the layman" books (for instance, Hawking's "Brief History of Time"). This was not the case with Stewart's "Dice" book. It is very well researched and written, in a style that wisely combines historical information with new discoveries, which are, therefore put into perspective. You can even try your hands in simple calculations with your PC. On the whole, a very balanced exposition, without, thank God!, the usual exageration on the place of chaos in the future of science. A very good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent non-technical introduction to chaos.
Review: Being a physicist I frequently get bored with "science for the layman" books (for instance, Hawking's "Brief History of Time"). This was not the case with Stewart's "Dice" book. It is very well researched and written, in a style that wisely combines historical information with new discoveries, which are, therefore put into perspective. You can even try your hands in simple calculations with your PC. On the whole, a very balanced exposition, without, thank God!, the usual exageration on the place of chaos in the future of science. A very good place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent non-mathematical introductory book
Review: It was one of the first books on chaos I read before take more advanced papers and books, and it is very clarifying in the basic ideas of this new and amazing world. I strongly recomend it for beginers and science's lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Mind-Blowing Maths for kids!
Review: Not being particularly mathematically minded, I found some sections of this book a bit of a struggle. Nonetheless, Stewart's somewhat disarming, slightly off-the-wall style of writing is very engaging, and on the whole the book is very readable. The implications of chaos will become clearer in the next decade or so I should imagine, so this book is timely and topical. A definite "must read".
Rating:
Summary: A thorough explanation of chaos theory
Review: The best mathematical models for many physical events rely on chaotic formulas and the number continues to grow rapidly. It now appears that some exposure to chaos and fractals will be a necessary component of the education of all future applied mathematicians. Given the simplicity of many of the equations, it can be strongly argued that chaos should be an early component of all mathematics education. Also, programming a computer to generate the images is very simple and a lot of fun.
To study chaos, you need a place to start, and this book will point you in the right direction and give you a brisk tail wind. The author, best known for his mathematics columns in Scientific American, writes with exceptional clarity. There are very few equations, as Stewart relies extensively on the verbal explanation. While computer generation is mentioned, only one very short BASIC program is given.
The material is pretty standard for introductory chaos and could serve as a textbook for a non-mathematical course in the subject. It would also be valuable reading for a course in the philosophy of science. Fairly extensive historical backgrounds are given for many of the initial discoveries.
If you have heard about chaos and want to know what all the excitement is about or are looking for reading material for a class you are teaching, this book is an excellent place to explore.Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.
Rating:
Summary: Most powerful math tool
Review: This book is a nice introduction to non-linear dynamics study (Chaos, roughly speeking, the very complex behavior from a simple set of equations). The author wrote it in a way that you understand how the Chaos was developed historically and he sometimes stops the narrative to introduce an easy aspect of chaos that anyone can understand. Thus you'll indeed develop Chaos behavior even if you're not Ph.D. in mathematics, because he will show you, for example, a very simple equation that produces chaos. However, what really catches me in this book was the power of this new approach of chaos. This is exactly what Santa Fe Institute needs. See, why is that when we apply a classical physics equation in a system it does not behaves exactly as it was expected? Because we certainly did not considered details (e.g. friction). The non-linear dynamics show us that we can, from a exceptionally simple equation, create a very complex behavior that can simulate the true behavior. Thus I think in a near future non-linear dynamics will be able to break that famous wall in Science: can't explain that in details because that would generate an almost impossible-to-solve math equation. Now we can do that!
Rating: 
Summary: Fighting religion with religion
Review: This book is almost religious in its championing of Darwinian evolution. It is a shame that what are actually sound scientific points are presented with a religious fever that distracts or is even counter-productive in coverting open minded believers in creation.
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