Gareth L. Schmeling

An encyclopædic survey, this second edition runs almost 900 pages. I read it most of it on a long plane trip, and finished it much later. It is a collection of articles, but unlike many such, which are of uneven quality, all articles are good. I recommend beginning with chapters 12 through 15, then reading the rest of the book sequentially. Tiny misprints on pages 95 ("simple" should read "simply") and 291 (exclamation point should be italicized).