Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Theory of Networks

"If you ever wanted to know how many links connect you and the Pope, or why when the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank sneezes the global economy catches cold, read this book," writes John L. Casti (Santa Fe Institute). This "cogent and engaging" (Nature) work presents the fundamental principles of the emerging field of "small-worlds" theory—the idea that a hidden pattern is the key to how networks interact and exchange information, whether that network is the information highway or the firing of neurons in the brain. Mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and social scientists are working to decipher this complex organizational system, for it may yield a blueprint of dynamic interactions within our physical as well as social worlds.

Highlighting groundbreaking research behind network theory, "Mark Buchanan's graceful, lucid, nontechnical and entertaining prose" (Mark Granovetter) documents the mounting support among various disciplines for the small-worlds idea and demonstrates its practical applications to diverse problems—from the volatile global economy or the Human Genome Project to the spread of infectious disease or ecological damage. Nexus is an exciting introduction to the hidden geometry that weaves our lives so inextricably together.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Fascinating, 2008-09-13
Nutshell review - The topic of this book, small-world networks, is fascinating and the author does a great job of covering the material in an easy to absorb and understand manner for us laymen. Well written, entertaining and thought provoking.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Extremely frustrating, 2008-08-21
The subject that Mark Buchanan addresses is, in itself, significant and fascinating. And Mr. Buchanan knows his stuff. He provides excellent visuals and thorough notes that many readers will find useful.

Why, then, do I find it so frustrating? Simply put, Mr. Buchanan may be a first-class editor, but he is not a very good writer. Not that he can't write a grammatical sentence. He just has trouble structuring one that leads unambiguously from one idea to another.

Thus, as interesting as I find the subject, it took me three years to force myself to finish the book. I am quite willing to reread something if, ultimately, I learn it. But I hate to be fighting constantly with the writer, trying to understand which of three possible concepts he's trying to convey.

And then there's the minor annoyance of the cover stock (paperback edition). It was curling before I left the bookstore, and it will never uncurl.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Good High-Level Overview, 2008-03-27
Nexus is a book that delves into network theory, specifically the implications of so-called "small-world" networks. Small-world networks are signified by low degrees of separation and clustering, yielding the "six-degrees" phenomena that connects a person to Kevin Bacon (or anyone else) within approximately six links, all the while most connections are maintained amongst close groups of friends or colleagues.

Research into small-world networks is a new and rapidly advancing field of complexity theory. Written in 2002, Nexus outlines the impact of small-world networks on many topics, including biology, ecology, economics, and technology. However, the cutting-edge nature of the field, combined with the now somewhat dated year of publication, limits the scope of the book.

In my opinion, while the book was interesting as a high-level overview, it lacked the level of detail that I would have preferred. While I have not yet read Linked or Six Degrees, I'm hoping that those books dive into the topic a bit further.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Very interesting!, 2008-03-04
A really interesting book. It's not hard to read and open your eyes on a new approach in understanding how real things go.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I liked "Linked: How Everything is Connected" better, 2008-01-01
I am neither a scientist nor an economist. I wanted to learn more about this emerging science of networks. I bought this and "Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means". I found "Linked" to be the better of the two books. It was entertaining and easy to read, and had a lot of interesting examples that were very easy to understand. I think most people looking for a non-academic treatment would find it interesting.

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