categories: Sketches of an Elephant

[Colin McLarty <cxm7@po.cwru.edu>]

This is terrific news (and makes me heartily glad to have an Oxford
author's discount on Oxford books).

But here is a thought. Wilfrid Hodges' MODEL THEORY is about as long as one
of these volumes, and costs about the same. It is sales rank 593,602 on
Amazon which basically means that by 8 years after its publication nobody
buys it. It is behind Johnstone's TOPOS THEORY at 427,429 and I believe
that is out of print?

The 250 page abridgment A SHORTER MODEL THEORY costs one third as much, and
is sales number 142,751 on Amazon which is quite nice. The number looks
high but few math books do as well. It is far better than highly regarded
books on staple subjects like Rotman's GALOIS THEORY at 221,341 or Fulton's
ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY at 225,800 for example. (Lawvere and Schanuel is at
71,151 which is terrific.)


Is there any chance this publication can be matched by a re-issue or
revision of Johnstone TOPOS THEORY? Or by a SHORTER TOPOS THEORY abridged
from the new work?

TOPOS THEORY remains today the most comprehensive concise account of the
subject. It is a bit mantic because it supresses the internal logic for too
long. There are valuable newer efforts. But for my money it remains the one
book of which you can say: you understand toposes when you understand this
book. (Please no one take offense at this, notice I do not except my own
book).   


There is going to be a burst of new interest in category theory led by two
factors: Lawvere's new publications and publication of some of his older
works, and a renewed interest in Grothendieck by younger mathematicians who
want to explore his less developed ideas. All but one of the SGAs is now
on-line as gif files, and there is an effort to get a text version on line.
The EGAs have just been re-issued by the IHES.   


Personally I would like to see a revised TOPOS THEORY that would at least
explain the internal viewpoint intuitively much sooner than the current
version does, even if the formal internal language stays in chapter 5.  But
a simple re-print would be better than leaving it out of print, and would
sell. 

Any chance?

best, Colin