Handbook of the Tutte Polynomial and Related Topics

"This is a comprehensive reference text on the Tutte polynomial, including its applications and extensions. The book consists of 34 relatively short chapters written by different contributing authors. The individual contributors present the most important theorems in their respective fields and illustrate them with examples. Each chapter ends with a list of open problems. Two brief introductory chapters by the editors-Ellis-Monaghan (Univ. of Amsterdam) and Moffatt (Royal Holloway, University of London)-cover the basic definitions and computational results for Tutte polynomials. The next two-thirds of the book are devoted to applications and extensions, that is, uses and occurrences of Tutte polynomials outside graph theory or matroid theory. Hyperplane arrangements, quantum field theory, network reliability, the sandpile model, and chipfiring games are a few examples of the topics treated. The book concludes with a chapter on the history of the subject written by Graham Farr. It follows from the nature of the volume (i.e., no proofs, no exercises, very broad topical coverage, and more than 50 authors) that classroom use of the book is unlikely. Nonetheless, this work is likely to become the most frequently consulted reference on Tutte polynomials."

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty.

-Choice Review