Robert Harbison is well-known for his architectural criticism and, in particular, for an excellent book he wrote several years ago titled ECCENTRIC SPACES. That book dealt in part with gardens and other spaces of the 17th century, and this volume happily picks up where that one left off. Harbison explores here both the whimsy and playfulness of the Baroque sensibility and its more sober grounding in the Counter-Reformation. He looks at how the Baroque spread beyond Europe to the Americas, to Asia, and to Africa over the course of several centuries, and he examines diverse subjects ranging from bizarre gardens that go nowhere to the novel designs of architects Borromini, Bernini, and Wren. A great pleasure to read.

I wish I was clever enough to find 13 reasons to read this book, however it only takes one. It is the single most important that one can read to critically investigate the environment(s) that we live, work, and practice in. The author masterfully articulates 13 ways of doing, without limiting himself to style or functionality of space/ place. In a word it is brilliant!

This is a fine introductory book on Lasers. It basically covers a short history of Lasers, their applications, some fundemental concepts in Quantum Theory and theory of Semiconductors. This is not a technical book but rather and informative book. If you do not know anything about Lasers than you learn something but if you know some Semiconductor and Quantum Physics, you do not learn anything. I believe it really serve the purpose as popular science book but not as a textbook on Lasers.

This reference provides the general reader with essentially an introduction to key ideas in quantum mechanics, and demonstrates the reality of such ideas in the existence of lasers. Although Albert Einstein published in 1917 a paper discussing stimulated and spontaneous emission of light, and although technology such as discharge tubes (eg, neon lights) were available at the time, it was not until 1960 that Theodore Maiman at Hughes Aircraft Corporation, demonstrated the first laser, albeit a ruby rod laser. If an electron in an atom is put into an excited state, then eventually that electron will drop to a more stable, lower energy state and emit a photon of light in the process. Einstein noted that a photon of the same energy as one that would be emitted could stimulate the atom to drop the electron to the lower energy state and emit the photon. If the technology is used to raise electrons into a higher state and then allow a chain reaction whereby released photons stimulate other atoms to release photons and so on, then laser light results. For example, we can pass an electric current through a neon tube to excite the electrons of the neon atoms into higher energy levels. Doing so results in a neon light-- electrons spontaneously drop to lower levels and photons are spontaneously emitted. However, if we then put mirrors at the end of the neon tube, then a photon reflecting off one of the mirrors back down the axis of the tube will stimulate another excited neon atom to emit a photon, and now there will be two photons travelling in the same direction, and will stimulate more neon atoms which will release more photons, and there will be more and more photons travelling together as the chain reaction proceeds. If one of the mirrors is partially reflecting and allows a small percent of the photons hitting it to pass out, then out of this mirror will emerge a laser beam.

This is a good book of 18th century architecture, it has many excellent scetches of ideas held by the architects of the time.

Harbison proposes that stories evolve to reflect the evolution of the human societies which tell them. He traces stories from "Gilgamesh" to the "modern novel", analysing such things as depth of self awareness in characters, expectation of humanity, level of interaction displayed between characters. A great book for all those interested in the secret life that stories have (sometimes alluded to by other authors who have tapped into it) and a must (I think) for authors/poets/song-writers who wish to understand the wider significance of their creations. I found my copy in the old second hand bookshop that seems to appear mysteriously around the world whenever you really think you won't ever find that perfect book...I was delighted.