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In this short book, Close (emer., Univ. of Oxford, England), a well-known British theoretical physicist and the author of a number of popular books on science, discusses why the charges on the electron and proton are opposite but exactly equal to each other, so that the net charge on an atom can be zero. While this is still a mystery, the discussion leads him through an explanation of the Standard Model of particle physics. His prose is delightful, and his presentation of the concepts of the Standard Model is unusually clear. Close leads the reader through the theories of electromagnetism, beta decay, quantum electrodynamics, quarks, and finally, quantum chromodynamics. While the book would have benefited from a few additional illustrations, the key illustration of the components of the Standard Model can be easily found on the internet. This book will be a valuable addition to college libraries.Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through graduate students; two-year technical program students.

When the first artificial satellite was launched by the Soviet Union more than six decades ago, there were headlines all over the world. Today there are some five thousand satellites, serving civil, commercial, and military purposes. The majority of these are from the US. Satellites serve many purposes: from monitoring the environment to GPS. But they also contribute to space debris. Sometimes they interfere with astronomical observations. The stability of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites is impacted by the large number of satellites. This book analyzes a whole range of orbital effects in the mathematical framework of General Relativity. This analysis presents results which are valid for arbitrary orbital configurations. The mathematics involved is equally applicable to the S-stars that orbit the supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy, and other systems, too. The book also presents an overview of some proposed spacecraft-based missions. The treatment of the subject is highly technical. It involves sophisticated mathematics (including Riemannian geometry) and calls for familiarity with a wide range of technical physics. The book is indispensable for libraries catering to graduate students and research workers in this branch of mathematical physics, celestial mechanics and general relativity, but is unlikely to be consulted by others.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and researchers.