Tilings and Patterns: Second Edition (Dover Books on Mathematics)

This fantastic book is now finally back in print after many delays. The second edition (Dover) is unabridged and contains a section at the end with many updates on new developments since the publication of the first edition. There is one unfortunate omission: the 14th and 15th types of convex pentagons that tile the plane monohedreally are not mentioned. Also, the paper by Henle and Henle on squaring the plane is referenced but it is not made clear that it solves the longstanding problem of tiling the plane with exactly one copy of each nxn square. But the book covers such a vast territory that Grunbaum cannot be blamed for missing some references. This book is still the best single volume on the topic and is an indispensable reference for any researcher in the field, as well as a beautiful book to browse and dip into for enjoyment.

This book is a magnificent achievement.I just want to gush about this book, but that won't do you any good. It is the very best in its field. Just start there.Grunwald and Shepard have put together the definitive book on ways to tile the two dimensional plane. "Tiling" means covering the 2D universe with interlocking figures, so that no gap remains. Bathroom tiles do that, and patterns of brick on walls, and all of those wonderful geometries that the Muslim artists raised to their god in place of graven images.That can not be enough for the very strongest of creative minds. The authors show the "Penrose tiles", that cover the world without ever repeating. Penrose used a five-way plan, which barely meets the needs of the world's symmetries. Amman used a four-way plan, like floor tiles, but created tiles that forever create new patterns. The pattern fills the world, but never repeats (except in detail). And then, there are the spiral tiles - perfectly regular, and different at every scale.The artist will savor the richness of the plane. A mathematician will sink deeply into the many symmetries that turn THIS point into all points, or no other, or some, or all of the above. The student will struggle through the problems at the end of each chapter. Thoughtful readers will simply find themselves wandering away from every page, where some seed of thought blossoms in your mind.I can not imagine how this could have gone out of print. I really can't. This book is the only one that covers its topic in !every! way. Depending on who you are, you must have it.//wiredweird

I have to add another gushing review to this remarkable book. As an artist and designer it's so rare to come across a life changing work rich in text and illustrations. This is one of those books. I came across this gem while reading through PDF's written by teacher Craig Kaplan on his web site. Kaplan's work has been built on the shoulders of these giants, Branko and Grunbaum. I just wish I had the chance to have studied under them during Kaplan and Grunbaum's period on staff at the UW. Look for deals on the used hardcover edition. It's totally worth investigation.

More of a reference for tilings and patterns than a how to in terms of abstract mathematics. Good for those interested how culture and mathematics overlap. Very visually approachable content.

Amazing source and reference!!!

Great book!

Almost perfect copy. This is the book to have for tiling mathematics.

In the preface of "Tilings and Patterns: An Introduction," the authors write: "This volume is a brief edition...comprising the first seven chapters of our earlier book Tilings and Patterns... The present paperback version contains all the material from the oirginal text that deals with tilings by regular polygons, the topological and symmetry properties of tilings, the motif-transitive patterns in general, and the special cases where the motif is a circular or elliptical disk or a straight-line segment. It also includes several classifications of very symmetric tilings." There is no indication of what topics were covered in the remaining chapters (8-12) of the original edition.

If you plan to make many patterns in your life than this is the book you'r looking for. The book is mostly comprised of how to make the patterns, simple maths and theory. Most of the drawings are ment to teach you how to create many combinations, few are aestheticly suitable to direct sell. What's most important and I find it fascinating was that I was trying to develop my own theories on pattern generations in order to make many of them and sell them on stock platforms, but with this book I don't need to do that anymore. Take your time to read some explanations and you can generate many combinations. I am absolutely impressed, this book is the proverbial grabbing the bull by its "spheres" .Do not miss it , it's not a book that you flip through and will just know everything. This will guide you all your life if you want to make patterns .

This book was not what I expected. There are some graphics, but for most part it's just a numerical sets of how to make those graphics. And I mean lots of numerical sets. But, I guess, if you're graphic designer you will find it useful.The five stars is for the costumer service because they have let me to return this book without hassle.

Bel libro, scritto bene e non necessariamente difficile da capire ma poco pratico per gli artisti che cercano un manuale di consultazione intuitivo. Lo consiglio più agli appassionati di numeri.

Lo que esperaba

Excellent book with rich content. Although the print is bit small but manageable.