[texhax] a LaTeX question

[res at math.brown.edu]

Dear texhax,

I learned about your email address from Gerree Pecht, who is an
avid TeX user and probably a member of the TeX User's Group.  I
have a TeX problem that I can't solve.

I have written a math research monograph for Princeton Press.
The monograph has 1 appendix.  This appendix is called

Appendix A

The various statements in Appendix A appear as

Section A.1
Theorem A.2
Figure A.5
etc.

The header (across the right hand pages) reads
Appendix A.

All of this works perfectly, except for one problem.  The
editor does not want us to call the appendix Appendix A
because there is no Appendix B and "Appendix A" might look
like an error to some observers.

The editor would like to switch this to the following:
The appendix should be called

Appendix    (I know how to fix this)

The statements within the appendix should remain

Section A.1
etc.

The header should change to

Appendix

That is, the A should be removed.  This is the problem I do
not know how to fix.   I have two questions, one that is important
and one that is just for my own curiousity.

1. How do you fix my problem?

2. Why would LaTeX arrange things so that a book with just one
appendix would have that appendix be called "Appendix A"?  Or,
do the writers of LaTeX think that a single appendix called
"Appendix A" is actually the most correct setup?  (I don't mind
"Appendix A" personally.)

Thanks for any help you can give.

Best,
Rich Schwartz
http://www.math.brown.edu/~res