Branches

The third in a trilogy of books about Nature's patterns, many of which are fractal - showing the same pattern at different scales in what Ball calls the self-made tapestry. He covers the symmetry of snowflakes, the shape of cracks and a corresponding branches of rivers, patterns in branches and leaves and the tapestry of webs. The overall effect of the book is to make one far more aware of the intricate patterns that surround us and which can also be discerned at the molecular level. Life inherently creates order and has what the author calls and irrepressible tendency to crystallise forms of order far from equilibrium. The book is enriched with many black-and-white photos and a small section of spectacular plates in full colour.