It avoids mathematical formulas, okay, but that doesn't make it plain English. I read the first sentence at least three times and I am still not absolutely sure

It avoids mathematical formulas, okay, but that doesn't make it plain English. I read the first sentence at least three times and I am still not absolutely sure that I didn't miss something and it says something (slightly) different then I think. I then only read a couple of sentences every couple of pages and the impression I got was that it is essentially as technical as any axiomatic definition just without the clarity and compactness of mathematical formulas.