Reviews 79

only an artistic, stylistic, and technical overview of the evolution of advertising photography, but also discusses many social issues and the evolving relationships of the photographer to the client and advertising agency. Documentation on the clients, agencies, and art directors for each photograph, biographies of the photographers, and a bibliography make this book a useful reference work as well as an enjoyable and eye-educating book for the reader interested in the merger of photography as persuasion and artistic expression.

Wolf, H. (1988). Visual Thinking: Methods for Making Images Memorable. New York, NY: American Showcase, Inc., 184 pages, $45.00.

Henry Wolf shares with his readers his many years of experience as an art director and pho- tographer. More than 250 illustrations, most in full color and most by the author, provide a view of his career. But this is not a biographical work. The author uses these photographs to

demonstrate a variety of methods for creating memorable images. The book is organized into 17 chapters, each showing a different creative approach. They range from unexpected combi-

nations and strange perspectives to color and humor. This book examines in text and pictures the process of transforming idea into visual imagery. It is an insightful and informative look at the creative process that should appeal to those creating or using photographic images. The artistry and striking images of the photographs, and their beautiful reproduction, also make this a book for anyone who simply enjoys interesting photographic images.

COMPUTER VISUALIZATION

In the last few years there has been a growing recognition of the power of the computer to aid in scientific and technical visualization. There are now many examples in such diverse fields as molecular biology and architecture. These powerful visualization techniques are aid- ing scientific and artistic discovery, and providing effective means of communication. In some respects many of the books reviewed throughout this essay - books on charts, statistical graphics, diagrams, maps and plans - are about visualization. The two books reviewed below, though, consider visualization more directly.

Friedhoff, R. M., & Benzon, W. (1989). Visualization: The Second Computer Revolution. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 215 pages, $49.50.

This book provides a broad introduction to computer visualization, explaining why and how

it is being used in such varied fields as medicine, architecture, aeronautics, advertising, enter- tainment, graphic design, physics and chemistry. In clear, nontechnical language the authors explain and illustrate such graphic methods used in simulations as advanced shading tech- niques, procedural graphics, computer animation, and scientific simulations. They demon- strates how satellite imagery can be combined with digital terrain data to create three-dimen- sional views of the Los Angeles basin or how computers can be combined with holography to create computer-generated holographic stereograms. The publisher, Abrams, is perhaps best known as a publisher of art books. This can stand as an art book filled with beautiful pictures. It is this and much more. The more than 200 illustrations, 142 in full color, many specially cre- ated computer image sequences and diagrams, illustrate and amplify the text. This book does more than explore the underlying concepts and many applications of computer visualization. It shows how computer visualization, as an emerging discipline, is enabling new kinds of think-