1. The Fractal Geometry of Nature by Benoit Mandelbrot • published in 1982 by W. H. Freeman and Company • a wide-ranging essay on fractals and science • contains many pictures of fractals • Mandelbrot invented the word “fractal” in 1977.
2. The Beauty of Fractals edited by Peitgen and Richter • published in 1986 by Springer-Verlag • stunning color pictures of Julia sets • gives technical explanation of Julia sets • contains articles by four other authors, including one by B. Mandelbrot.
3. Fractals Everywhere by Michael Barnsley • published in 1988 by Academic Press • the first test in fractal geometry • teaches the mathematics of deterministic fractals • contains numerous exercises and examples • describes applications of fractals in science
4. The Science of Fractal Images edited by Peitgen and Saupe • published in 1988 by Springer-Verlag • a collection of lecture notes by various authors, including one by Barnsley • good images, more Julia sets.
5. Fractals by Jens Feder • published in 1988 by Plenum Press • close in flavor to some of Mandelbrot's book • theoretical physics point of view, technical • random fractals, diffusion, Brownian motion, oil wells.