Books

The Moving Tablet of the Eye - the origins of modern eye movement research
Nicholas J Wade and Benjamin W. Tatler
Oxford University Press
ISBN 0-19-856616

Eye movements are a vital part of our interaction with the world. They play a pivotal role in perception, cognition and education. Research in this field is now proceeding at a considerable pace and casting new light on how the eyes move and what information we can derive during the frequent and brief periods of fixation. However, the origins of this work are less well known, even though much of our knowledge was derived from this research with far more primitive equipment.

This book is unique in tracing the history of eye movement research. It shows how great strides were made in this area before modern recording devices were available, especially in the measurement of mystagmus. When photographic techniques were adapted to measure discontinuous eye movements, from about 1900, many of the issues that are now basic to modern research were then investigated. One of the earliest cognitive tasks examined was reading and it remains in the vanguard of contemporary research.

Modern researchers in this field will be astonished at the subtleties of these early experimental studies and the ingenuity of interpretations that were advanced one and even two centuries ago. Though physicians often carried out the original eye movement research, later on it was pursued by psychologists - it is within contemporary neuroscience that we find these two strands reunited.

Anyone interested in the origins of psychology and neuroscience will find much to stimulate and surprise them in this valuable new work.

Nicholas Wade is a professor and Benjamin Tatler a lecturer in the Department of Psychology.

Reading Plato's Theaetetus
Timothy Chappell
ISBN 0-87220-760-9
Academia Verlag

Timothy Chappell's new translation of the Theaetetus is presented here in short sections of text, each preceded by a summary of the argument and followed by his philosophical commentary on it. Introductory remarks discuss Plato and his works, his use of dialogue , the structure of the Theaetetus, and alternative interpretations of the work as a whole.

A glossary and bibliography are provided.

Timothy Chappell is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University.

The Urban Geography Reader
Edited by Nicholas R. Fyfe and Judith T. Kenny
Routledge
ISBN 0-415-30702-3

Drawing on a rich diversity of theoretical approaches and analytical strategies, urban geographers have been at the forefront of understanding the global and local processes shaping cities and of making sense of the urban experiences of a wide variety of social groups. Through their links with those working in the fields of urban policy and design, urban geographers have also played an important role in the analysis of the economic and social problems confronting cities.

The Urban Geography Reader captures this diversity of scholarship by presenting a stimulating selection of articles and excerpts by leading figures in their fields organised around seven themes. The themes address the changing economic, political, socio-cultural, and technological conditions of contemporary urbanisation and the range of individual and collective responses. The Reader provides an unparalleled resource for geography and urban studies by offering a selection of original source material on a range of issues related to contemporary cities. Designed to aid understanding, the Reader features extensive editorial input in the form of general, section, and individual extract introductions.

Bringing together in one volume 'classic' and contemporary pieces of urban geography, studies undertaken in cities in different parts of the world, and examples of theoretical and applied research. The Urban Geography Reader will prove invaluable for those studying the complex geographies of urban areas.

Nicholas R Fyfe is Reader in Geography at the University.