Maple in this case is not a brand of detergent from Vermont perhaps but a software product that allows users to create shapes. Oprea (mathematics, Cleveland State U.) offers a textbook for a college junior or senior seminar or an independent study course. He expects readers to know calculus and be familiar with differential equations, but provides the necessary notions from differential geometry and complex variables. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)