'Many books have been written about Escher's art. None has approached Visions of Symmetry for its scope, scale and sumptuousness. The sheer beauty and ingenuity of the pictures keep you turning the pages as though the book were a collection of detective stories whose plots are bri]]iantly organized patterns'-New Scientist

'A work that is at once a study of Esther's art and thoughts and an intellectual biography of the artist'-Choice

'Awe-inspiring...the price is sma]] compared to the scope and interest of the work'-The Mathematical Gazette

Doris Schattschneider's classic Visions of Symmetry is the most penetrating study of Esther's work in existence, and the one most admired by mathematicians and scientists.It deals with one powerful obsession that preoccupiedEsther: what he called'the regular division of the plane',the puzzle-like interlocking of birds, fish, lizards and other natural forms in continuous patterns. Schattschneider

asks, 'How did he do it?'. She answers the question by meticulously analysing Escher's notebooks.

Visions of Symmetry includes many of Escher's masterworks, as well as hundreds of lesser-known

examples of his work. This new edition also features a foreword by Douglas R.Hofstadter and an Illustrated epilogue by the author that reveals new information about Escher's inspiration and shows how his ideas on symmetry have influenced mathematicians, computer scientists and contemporary artists.

Visions of Symmetry is a trip into the mind of a creator who continues to captivate the world.

Doris Schattschneider received her PhD in mathematics from Yale University and taught at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for thirty-four years. She is the author of numerous articles and has lectured throughout the world on the topics of ti]lng and poiyhedra, dynamic geometry software, geometry and att, visualization in teaching mathematics, and the symmetry work of M. C.Escher. She is the co-author of the bestselling model kit M. C. Escher Kaleidocycles and co-editor of the book and

CD-Rom M. C. Escher's Legacy: A Centennial Celebration.She has served as editor-in-chief of athematics

Magazine, and in 1993 she received the MAA Award for Distinguished Teaching of College or University Mathematics.

Douglas R. Hofstadter is the Pulitzer prize-winning author of Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid,a hugely popular and seminal work on mathematical logic, cognitive science and philosophy of mind. Trained in mathematics and physics, Hofstadter is Professor of Computer Science and Cognitive Science at Indiana University, and in addition does work in comparative literature, art, music and other fie]ds.

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