Sorry, I know that’s not much to go on. But, I can add a bit more . . .
I’m trying to remember the title and author of a book published circa 1980 (but quite possibly earlier) that provided an introduction to the notion of chaos and non-linear dynamics in chemical reactions and chemical systems. As I recall, it was especially notable insofar as it was also one of the first (semi-)popular* books to provide an overview and discussion of the basic concepts of ‘chaos theory’. I’m pretty sure that Mandelbrot (The Fractal Geometry of Nature) cited it or vice versa. It definitely contained the type of pictures we now take for granted when illustrating the subject of chaos.
A possibly unique feature of the (version I had of the) book and which may therefore be helpful to identify it, was its cover - showing some self-emerging, interacting vortices (emerging out of the chaotic reactions underlying them).
I’m virtually certain the author had an eastern European name, possibly Polish (this is not to say the book wasn’t written in English or the author resided in a non-English speaking country).
I’ve done all types of (Boolean) Google searches but am always overwhelmed by the number of hits (which, btw, helps underscore the significance of the book I’m trying to remember - at the time, it was, quite literally IIRC, the only semi-popular* book on the field.
- I use the term “semi-popular” since the book, although pretty high-powered, and full of arcane results specific to chemical reactions, was accessible, at least in theory, the interested layperson. And, as mentioned, it was one of the earliest books to show how chaos theory (a la Mandelbrot) can apply to a real world science.
Thanks!