The third edition of this definitive and popular book continues to
pursue the question: what is the most efficient way to pack a large
number of equal spheres in n-dimensional Euclidean space? The authors
also examine such related issues as the kissing number problem, the
covering problem, the quantizing problem, and the classification of
lattices and quadratic forms. There is also a description of the
applications of these questions to other areas of mathematics and
science such as number theory, coding theory, group theory,
analogue-to-digital conversion and data compression, n-dimensional
crystallography, dual theory and superstring theory in physics. New and
of special interest is a report on some recent developments in the
field, and an updated and enlarged supplementary bibliography with over
800 items.