IFSR Newsletter 1998 Vol. 17 No. 1 March
The International Encyclopedia of Systems and cybernetics presents, for the first time, a complete overview of the field of systems and cybernetics and its development from its beginnings more than forty years ago up to the present. It includes both general and well-known basic concepts and specific and detailed information on the subject. Much of this information was, until now, scattered among hundreds of papers presented in international or national meetings, most of them completely out of reach for the majority of scholars. While redacted in English, it contains also a considerable store of valuable information gathered from sources in various other languages e.g. Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, etc. The work contains:
- nearly 3,000 entries in alphabetical order
- a considerable quantity of verbatim quotes from hundreds of authors
- more than 1,200 specific references
- general information about Systems and Cybernetic Societies in the world
- principal journals in the field.
The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics is an indispensable tool for any scientist, librarian, student or researcher seeking to establish better transdisciplinary communi-cation with specialists in other disciplines. Leaders with economic, political or social responsibilities will want to consult it regularly as will any member of the general public who has questions on this subject. This is a book that should be on the shelf of every university library and in the faculties of philosophy, economy, history, politics, sociology, and communications.
Charles François is a Belgian citizen, born 1922 He retired from the Belgian Foreign Service in 1987. and lives now in Argentina since 1963; He is the author of numerous papers and books on systemic topics.
K.G.Saur München, 1997, 423 pages. hardbound. DM 398.00, ISBN 3-598-11357-9