The Earth, the Temple, and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture by Vincent Scully (review)

344 Books wood shavings are fascinating, comforting, perhaps even erotic. In addition to pleasure, this craft can be profitable. Blandford's book does not differ much from others on the subject. It is well laid out, and the illustrations are clear, but missing are illustrations affine examples of turning. Since this is a beginners book, attention is concentrated on simple household items and toys and on wooden games and puzzles. Aesthetic nonutilitarian modes applicable to fine art are ignored, as are new lathe techniques developed in the 1950s. One is concerned here with the lathe, the hand-held cutting tools and the turned objects whose quality is highly dependent on a person's skill. Automatic lathes mechanically reproduce objects that appear crude and vulgar to a skilled woodturner. The concept of craftsmanship suggests painstaking attention to details, thus a book about craft technique should not have grammatical and spelling errors. By the 29th chapter I found an excessive number of them. It is unfortunate that so many authors and publishers are abandoning the Pursuit of Excellence. There are a few new tricks provided in the book, for example, the use of a foot-operated strap as a holding device for carving twists; the use of a wire to char a circumference design by heat or friction and square turning, sometimes called therming. I would have appreciated discussions of thread chasing, the cutting of machine threads by eye and hand coordination, and perhaps of craft psychology. Information is provided on light metal working, turning plastics and on the trick of cutting glass circles so as to avoid uneven edge reflections. I found the book, on the whole, a good one for beginners. Stained Glass: Music for the Eye. Robert and Jill Hill and Hans Halberstadt. Univ. Washington Press, Seattle, WA, U.S.A., 1976. 108 pp., ilIus. Paper, $12.45. Reviewed by Sean O'Driscoll* Stained glass (a misnomer) received this designation belatedly when in the 18th century makers of glass works began to think in terms of painting techniques on canvas rather than of the fascinating direct transformation oflight through coloured glass. Glass painting techniques were furthered by the introduction of a Swiss-developed colored enamel paint and. in my opinion, this marked the deterioration of an ancient craft. Most historians agree that the oldest complete examples of what are now called 'stained glass' are the 12th-century windows in Augsburg Cathedral in the Fed. Rep. of Germany. Earlier incomplete specimens from the 9th and 10th centuries have been unearthed. The authors, themselves visual artists, consider stained glass artists as composer-conductors of visual 'symphonies': glass, colors and Sun and electric light are their 'instruments'. Few people would not regard stained glass windows when illuminated by the Sun as a marvellous visual experience. This book conveys its impact. The authors in a clear and concise text provide information on the origins, background and history of this medium plus such new techniques as dalle glass and laminated glass, which are providing to stained glass artists exciting new challenges. The color illustrations are of an extraordinary quality. I think it is a pity that such a valuable reference work is apparently available only in paperback. How to Build Your Own Self-Programming Robot. David L. Heiserman. 237 PIT., illus. $12.95; and How to Build Your Own Working Robot Pet. Frank DaCosta. 238 pp., illus. $10.95. Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, U.S.A., 1979.Reviewed by A.T. Lawton** Silicon integrated circuits were invented about 25 years ago and now have been developed from simple two-transistor oscillators into complex multi-programmable 'computers on a chip'. A chip *Irish International Art Centre, Castle Matrix. Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland. **13Gastonbridge Road, Shepperton, Middlesex TW17 SHH, England. can contain about I million transistors and auxiliary components and can be housed in a 40 lead package about 5cm long and about lcm wide. This rapid development has led to forecasts (mostly ill-informed) that within the next 25 years humans will produce robot machines that will be far more clever and intelligent than their inventors. Since it is not known why humans are clever and intelligent, I find it difficult to believe...