When I wrote this book in 1986, I had to argue long and hard with Springer Verlag to publish it. They printed a small number of copies, and never bothered with a second printing, even though, surprisingly, there seemed to be some continued demand for the book. I have asked Springer to print more copies, but they flatly refused, unless I was willing to publish a second edition with them in the near future. Burnt once, why would I trust them with a second edition? Also, I figured that since Springer had gross income about 500,000 US dollars from my books with them, that they would be more generous with their royalties and more responsive to demands for second printings. The contrary is true in fact: royalties are decreasing (they stand now at 7.5% per book), and I feel that I am just one of the many academic rape victims.

As the book is out of print, the copyright and ownership is mine, so I do with it what I want. On these web pages, you will find a fine scan of my book in text searchable PDF format (thanks, HK). This is the original text. A list of errata is here.

Furthermore, I give anyone the permission, even without asking me, to take these PDF files to a printer, print as many copies as you like, and sell them for profit. If you would like me to advertise the sales points of the hard copies, please let me know. To the libraries: Please do not charge patrons for copying this book. I grant everyone the right to copy at will, for free.

So, there you have it. Eventually, I will do this with all my books. While I love Springer, my honeymoon with them is over. I will of course never start any affairs with the champion bloodsuckers like Elsevier, Kluwer or Dekker. Outfits I like are SIAM (nonprofit), Dover (great pricing) and Oxford University Press (allowing authors to post books on the web). With the arrival of Amazon, book advertising is no longer necessary, and one can publish with any company, really. So, it will be a matter of a few years before the old publishers will come back to the academics on their hands and knees asking for manuscripts. Too late.

The zip file with all PDF files is provided for your convenience. Below, you will find a table of contents and an index, both in HTML format: look for a keyword, note the page number, go to the right chapter via the table, and you are done.

Luc Devroye

Montreal, September 29, 2003