Known to native peoples for centuries as a sacred place and hunting ground; the ninth largest of Minnesotas 10;000 lakes remained unchanged until its shores were opened to settlement in 1851. The following year; New York promoter George Bertram wrote; "For healthfulness of climate; fertility of soil; beauty of scenery and nearness to markets [it] cannot be surpassed by any other locality in the country; being within twelve or fifteen miles of two of the most important towns in the territory . . . navigable for steam and other boats over forty-one miles; its waters clear as crystal and abounding with fish." Settlers began to flock to Lake Minnetonkas 120 miles of shoreline; clearing the "Big Woods" and building new lives in the wilderness. Soon; the lake became a tourist destination; thousands traveled across the country to stay in its lavish hotels; ride in massive steamboats; and enjoy the lakes beauty.
#221262 in eBooks 2011-04-08 2011-04-08File Name: B00VB469OU
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. a bit disappointedBy pascal vallottonBased on other reviews; you expect a highly polished product - full of glossy enlightening diagrams and explanations. The book is OK and conveys many important notions of optics adequately; especially if you have some background knowledge. However; at times; it feels like a potpourri; too wide to be under control and lacking in rigor. The authors present a few formulas at times and assure us that they could write many more "if they wanted to". However; this book really feels like the work of practitioners - a bit thin on the theory side. Many figures have a printing quality too low to be readable (so much for the Nyquist criteria; which by no coincidence is presented quite poorly) and the chapter on diffractive optics is a didactic catastrophe. Just because a book has been around for a long time and is respected in the field doesnt mean that it cant be improved upon. Still; I find myself reading the book time and again. The book will complement nicely Born and Wolf; which lies at the other extreme.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Excellent "How To" for Optical DesignersBy Thomas C BarkerIn the acknowledgements the authors state they "wanted to create a book in the field of optical system design that was clear and easy to understand" - Mission accomplished!This book is indeed easy to understand but nevertheless provides detailed explanations of how to design an optical system. While not deeply mathematical there are sufficent formulaes provided (with examples) so you can understand what to do and how to do it. If you were puzzled as to why achromatic lenses are used you wont be after you read this book. The book also explains how distortion occurs and how to get rid of it. Also there are sections on mechanical components such as lens mounting etc. The book also explains how to use typical optical design software.My only (slight) dissapointment was the relatively few descriptions of typical systems - but using the book you could design these from first principles. Also to be fair there are so many designs out there that this is probabaly asking too much.I bought this book because as an electronics engineer I did not know enough about optical systems to be able to design one. Reading this book and downloading some freeware optical design software (and using the book to help understand the outputs) has solved that problem3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. One of the best technical books I ownBy John A. Dormer 2Having studied the comments on four other books before holding my breath and purchasing "Optical System Design;" I was still worried that it would turn out to be a physics-oriented treatment of the subject despite the comments.I was happily surprised.Not only is this book well- and often humorously-written (to me at least); it has memorable explanations which make applying the knowledge easier.In particular; the excellent treatment throughout the book on the six major third-order aberrations causes has helped me use my optical design tools more correctly. I do not guess about specific changes; I know what to expect when making a change in the design.I have found over the years that purchasing two texts on a topic is a good strategy. One must be a "thick book;" like "Optical System Design;" and the other a "thin book" which serves as a map. Im still looking for the "thin" compliment to OD; but its layout and index are good enough that I will probably not follow my normal pattern.
