In abstract painting and functional architecture, he perceives a negation of history; with the advent of intelligent machines, he suspects that the idea of humanity may be disappearing as well. Hardison, professor of English at Georgetown, champions computer art, concrete poetry (``seeking to recover a unity lost in Western culture"), Dada experiments and the word games and formulas of the French writers' group known as Oulipo.

One can dip into this compendium for engaging discussions of all manner of topics, from the British cracking of the Germans' Enigma code in WW II to automobiles as ``thin-steel sculptures." (Dec.) Library Journal Hardison, English professor (Georgetown), Shakespearean scholar, and amateur physicist, is always entertaining and often thought-provoking, as in Entering the Maze: Identity & Change in Modern Culture (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1981); here, he is very successful at placing the advent of technology within the context of our century. Through witty and elegantly written chapters on art, architecture, music, and poetry, he weaves a cogent and coherent theory on how the world left the domain of philosophers and classical artists and entered that of mathematicians and computer scientists. When our capacity to envision nature as solid and tangible ``disappeared through the skylight," our ability to envision what nature and science consist of was irrevocably altered. Of the current titles that seem to address this subject, this is by far the best: Hardison illustrates, cleverly and vividly, by example<_

Challenging but highly readable, the book should spark discussion. Fascinating and well conceived.-- Mark Shelton, Columbus, Ohio Booknews Essays by a distinguished humanist upon the beauty and fascination of technology and its impact upon society. For the serious general reader. 389 pages.

 Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated 0670825050 / 9780670825059
Hardcover As New New York, N.Y., U.S.A. 

Price: 17.65 USD