Gilbert (sociology, U. of Surrey) and Troitzsch (social science informatics, U. of Koblenz-Landau, Germany) offer a practical textbook on techniques for building simulations to assist the understanding of social and economics issues. They explain what computer simulation can contribute to the social sciences, which of the many approaches to simulation would be best for a particular research project, and how to design and carry out a simulation and analyze the results. Computer scientists might also benefit from reading what functions social scientists need and what problems they have with existing packages. US distribution by Taylor and Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
