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Book Review（正式书评兼答问）： Network Science—Theory and Application
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asi_21242_Rev_EV.tex 18/11/2009 11: 48 Page 1
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 61(2):1–2, 2010
asi_21242_Rev_EV.tex 18/11/2009 11: 48 Page 2
Book Review
Network Science—Theory andApplication.
Ted G. Lewis. Hoboken,NJ: JohnWiley&Sons, Inc., 2009. 512 pp.
$110.00 (hardcover). (ISBN:978-0470331880).
To my knowledge, the emerging field of network science began after
1998 (Watts&Strogatz, 1998), and only a few books and review articles
or special reports named after “Network Science” have been published
world-wide (Barabasi, 2002; Committee on Network Science for Future
ArmyApplications, 2005; Fang,
2007; Wang, Li, & Chen, 2006; Watts, 2003, 2004; Watts & Strogatz,
1998; Zeng, 2006). The words “network science” or “new science of
networks” first appeared in the United States (Barabasi, 2002; Committee
on Network Science for Future Army Applications, 2005;Watts,
2003, 2004), followed by China (Chen&Xu, 2008; Fang,
Fang et al., 2007; Guo & Xu, 2006;Wang, Xiang, & Chen, 2006; Zeng,
2006) and others. However, “network science” already had been used
by Professor Ted G. Lewis for his book, published by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., which was perhaps the first comprehensive and representative
book on network science published in the United States. Although
common features of these types of books are the theory and methodology
from network science and their extensive applications to various
interdisciplinary areas, each book has its unique viewpoints and distinguishing
features. Here, I would like to provide my personal review on
the remarkable merits of this book, which deserve special attention.
Thirteen chapters include key issues with exercises, except for the
chapter 1. The first chapter describes the timeline of significant events
of network science development, from graph theory (particularly random
graphs) to modern network theory and its applications, and is to
my knowledge the most complete description about network history.
I agree that the history of network science has three milestones (Euler
graph theory, Erdos-Renyi random graph theory, and modern network
science), corresponding to three time periods (1736–1936, 1950–1990,
and 1998–present), as the book shows.
There is an abstractlike introduction to summarize and note the most
important part of each chapter. The first half of this book traces the
development of network science along a trail blazed by the pioneers
and inventors. This makes readers easily understand the objectives.
The book describes each issue (chapter) of network science through
the use of illustrations, tables, practical problems with solutions, case
studies, and applications to related Java software (There are five major
Java applications for demonstration.), where the latter is quite different
from all other books on the subject. The first six chapters develop the
field from its graph-theory root to the modern definition of a network.
These chapters are devoted to the most well-known classes: regular, random,
small-world, and scale-free networks. All materials are adequately
described and presented.
Chapter 7 describes “emergence,” a concept with extensive and
profound meaning about complex systems and networks. Searching
for emergence has been one of the very important and interesting
issues for complex network theory and interdisciplinary science. What
is emergence, and what is network emergence? This is one significant
subject and phenomenon arising from complex systems and networks.
The book gives a definition of network emergence, which is more than
a network’s transformation from an initial state to the final state. In
physical and biological sciences, emergence is a concept of some new
phenomena arising from a system that were not initially in the system’s
specification. This book’s definition refers to the repeated application
of microrules that result in an unexpected macrostructure that hints at a
key point. The book gives a brief explanation and is easy to understand.
It also introduces newself-organizing principles for networks and shows
How to custom-design networks with an arbitrary degree sequence distribution
that may help people design faster, more resilient communication
networks and revise some associated networks.
The second half of this book, chapters 8 to 13, briefly describes several
important issues from a practical application point of view, with
further studies. Chapter 8, “Epidemics,” may excite new endeavors of
designing antigen countermeasures for the Internet, and can be used to
explain human epidemics as well as epidemics that sweep across the
Internet. Chapter 9 describes “synchrony,” an issue that has received a
great deal of attention in the past in the studies of complex networks,
but this book gives only a brief description. In chapter 10, “Influence
Networks,” the author proposes what conditions must be met for a
social network to come to consensus. Chapter 11, “Vulnerability,” shows
how networks might be attacked, which may be used on a daily basis to
valuate critical infrastructure and protect against natural and synthetic
attacks. Chapter 12, “Netgain,” is an exploration of a business model
and introduces some classical market models as reference. In chapter
13, “Biology,” the reader is introduced to the exciting new field of
protein-expression networks and suggests new directions for the reader
to consider. It emphasizes both static and dynamical analysis as well
as the relationship of dynamics with structure and function, where the
latter is the most fascinating application of network science today.
As mentioned in the preface, “This book is a start, but it also leaves
many questions unanswered.”Yes, some important issues have not been
addressed, such as information networks, swarm aggregation or flocking
of multiple agents, weighted nonlinear evolution networks, social
networks, network centric warfare, and so on. However, I believe that
researchers, professionals, and technicians in engineering, computer science,
and biology will benefit from an overview of new concepts in
network science. It also may inspire a new generation of investigators
and researchers.
In summary, the book is a valuable reference, with practicability
especially for engineering and graduate students, although some more
theoretical subjects or deep-level problems could be added to strengthen
and improve its quality and presentation.
Finally, I may mention that the cover of the book is “Network
Science: Theory and Application,” but it is “Network Science: Theory
and Practice” on the opening page. Why is that? A correction may be
needed.
References
Barabasi, A.L. (2002). The new science of networks. Cambridge, United
Kingdom: Perseus.
Chen, G.R., & Xu, X.M. (Ed.). (2008). Complex networks theory and
application [in Chinese]. Shanghai: Shanghai System Science Press.
Committee on Network Science for Future Army Applications, Board on
Army Science and Technology, Division on Engineering and Physical
Science, National Research Council of The National Academies. (2005).
Network science.Washington, DC: National Academic Press.
Fang, J.-Q. (
Chinese]. Beijing: Atomic Energy Press.
Fang, J.-Q. (Ed.). (2008b). Proceedings of CCAST (World Laboratory)
Workshop: 4rth Chinese National Forum on Network Science and Graduate
Student Summer School, CCAST—WLWorkshop Series:WULUME
191, Qing Daun, China.
Fang, J.-Q., Wang, X.-F., Zhen, Z.-G., Li, X., Di, X.-L., & Bi, Q. (2007).
New interdisciplinary science: Network science. Progress in Physics I [in
Chinese], 27(3), 239–343; (II), 2007, 27(4), 361–448.
Guo, L., & Xu, X.-M. (Ed.). (2006). Complex network [in Chinese].
Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press.
Wang, X.-F., Li, X.,&Chen, G.R. (2006). Complex networks and application
[in Chinese]. Beijing: Qing Hua University Press.
Watts, D.J. (2003). Six degrees: The science of a connected age. NewYork:
Norton.
Watts, D.J. (2004). The “new” science of networks. Annual Review of
Sociology, 30, 243–270.
Watts, D.J., & Strogatz, S.H. (1998). Remarkable interdiciplinary science—
Network science. Nature, 393, 440–442.
Zeng, X.Z. (Ed.). (2006). Network science [in Chinese]. Beijing: Military
Science Press.
Jin-Qing Fang
China Institute of Atomic Energy,
Beijing 102413
China
E-mail: fangjinqing@gmail.com
Published onlineXXXinWiley InterScience
10.1002/asi.21142
Book Review： Network Science—Theory and Application
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—February 2010
DOI: 10.1002/asi
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