Have you ever wondered why the American colors are red, white, and blue? Did you know that our national mascot was almost a turkey rather than a bald eagle? Can you trace your family's ancestry back to the Mayflower Pilgrims, or perhaps to a cowboy of the Old West? Do you think you would like to spend Thanksgiving watching footraces rather than televised football or eating venison and oysters rather than turkey? Many of us have played with Lincoln Logs, but did you know that they were named after President Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin?

Symbols have always played a crucial role in shaping our identity as a country. The American buffalo, the Statue of Liberty, the Mayflower, and Uncle Sam himself have all helped convey to the world the American values of liberty and democracy.

Delno and Jean West's lively prose unveils the stories behind America's symbols, complemented by Christopher Manson's handsome woodcuts, which perfectly convey the rugged individualism of the American spirit.

In many electronic systems, such as telecommunication or measurement systems, oscillations play an essential role in the information processing. Each electronic system poses different requirements on these oscillations, depending on the type and performance level of that specific system. It is the designer's challenge to find the specifications for the desired oscillation and to implement an electronic circuit meeting these specifications. As the desired oscillations have to fulfill many requirements, the design process can become very complex. To find an optimal solution, the designer requires a design methodology that is preferably completely top-down oriented. To achieve such a methodology, it must be assured that each property of the system can be optimized independently of all other properties. Oscillators and Oscillator Systems: Classification, Analysis and Synthesis takes a systematic approach to the design of high-performance oscillators and oscillator systems. A fundamental classification of oscillators, based on their internal timing references, forms the basis of this approach. The classification enables the designer to make strategic design decisions at a high hierarchical level of the design process. Techniques, derived from the systematic approach, are supplied to the designer to enable him or her to bring the performance of the system as close as possible to the fundamental limits. Oscillators and Oscillator Systems: Classification, Analysis and Synthesis is an excellent reference for researchers and circuit designers, and may be used as a text for advanced courses on the topic.

Beginners guide to the subject, which includes sections on the individual oils with an easy reference ailment index.