Customer Rating: 
Summary: A review on the book -- not on Mandelbrot
Comment: Mandelbrot is the person who introduced the fractal theory to the world in its present form. Many fields of science including geophysics have gained from fractals. However, this is not the book one should read to gain knowledge on the subject.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a unique personal account of a (then) new science
Comment: highly personal, highly self-congradulatory, highly-amusing, highly interesting, a great read! More math/sci authors should tell us how they really feel like Mandelbrot!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Comment: After having studied fractals in school and reading numerous books on chaos and fractals on my own, I figured that Mandelbrot's book would be the pinnacle, surpassing everybody else's interpretations and getting the information "straight from the horse's mouth". I was wrong. Mandelbrot, while he may be a brilliant mathematician, has not quite mastered the English language. The topics that he speaks of in this book are basic, not exactly what you would expect from the leader in his field. He doesn't even go into real specifics, or not the specifics that I wanted to see going into this book. In fact, I didn't even bother finishing it. There was nothing new, no powerful insights that other books may have missed. Mandelbrot, it seems is much better at mathematics then at writing. My suggestion is to buy a different book on the subject.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, one of the first, but not the best
Comment: The book is still a milestone in the history of fractals, but it gets currently lost among the many available publications. Surely a good book, but there now exist other texts that can be considered more advisable to a reader, particularly to a computer-oriented one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: beauty does not equate to depth or thoroughness
Comment: Mandelbrot's update of his classic work is certainly eye-catching. However, just like its forerunner, it fails to answer the simplest questions, including, "How do I calculate the fractal dimension of this curve?" and "How can I manage to plot the Julia set for myself?" The answers to such questions have to be gleaned by the intelligent--and mathematically sophisticated--reader for himself. (One sees this phenomenon all the time in "advanced" mathematics books. It means that either [a] the author has his head stuck in the clouds and expects the reader to use divination, or [b] he prefers to keep his readers ignorant.) For a much more practical and rewarding discussion, read "The Science of Fractal Images" edited by Peitgen and Saupe. The math is clear; the algorithms are plainly stated for the PC enthusiast with some simple programming skills; and the color plates are astounding.
Summary: A review on the book -- not on Mandelbrot
Comment: Mandelbrot is the person who introduced the fractal theory to the world in its present form. Many fields of science including geophysics have gained from fractals. However, this is not the book one should read to gain knowledge on the subject.
It is not an easily readable book. 1. It is not well-organized 2. It does not cover necessary things in detail 3. Frustratingly long in some parts. Instead the books: Feder, Fractals; Turcotte, Fractals and Chaos in Geology and Geophysics can be recommended.
Fractal geometry may be interesting as a historical book, after one gains a sufficient knowledge on fractals.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a unique personal account of a (then) new science
Comment: highly personal, highly self-congradulatory, highly-amusing, highly interesting, a great read! More math/sci authors should tell us how they really feel like Mandelbrot!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Comment: After having studied fractals in school and reading numerous books on chaos and fractals on my own, I figured that Mandelbrot's book would be the pinnacle, surpassing everybody else's interpretations and getting the information "straight from the horse's mouth". I was wrong. Mandelbrot, while he may be a brilliant mathematician, has not quite mastered the English language. The topics that he speaks of in this book are basic, not exactly what you would expect from the leader in his field. He doesn't even go into real specifics, or not the specifics that I wanted to see going into this book. In fact, I didn't even bother finishing it. There was nothing new, no powerful insights that other books may have missed. Mandelbrot, it seems is much better at mathematics then at writing. My suggestion is to buy a different book on the subject.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, one of the first, but not the best
Comment: The book is still a milestone in the history of fractals, but it gets currently lost among the many available publications. Surely a good book, but there now exist other texts that can be considered more advisable to a reader, particularly to a computer-oriented one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: beauty does not equate to depth or thoroughness
Comment: Mandelbrot's update of his classic work is certainly eye-catching. However, just like its forerunner, it fails to answer the simplest questions, including, "How do I calculate the fractal dimension of this curve?" and "How can I manage to plot the Julia set for myself?" The answers to such questions have to be gleaned by the intelligent--and mathematically sophisticated--reader for himself. (One sees this phenomenon all the time in "advanced" mathematics books. It means that either [a] the author has his head stuck in the clouds and expects the reader to use divination, or [b] he prefers to keep his readers ignorant.) For a much more practical and rewarding discussion, read "The Science of Fractal Images" edited by Peitgen and Saupe. The math is clear; the algorithms are plainly stated for the PC enthusiast with some simple programming skills; and the color plates are astounding.