An author obviously cannot treat every topic of interest to his readers. However, I must admit I was puzzled by the fact that Uttal never addressed James Gibson's Ecological approach to perception, for there are many parallels between Gibson's ideas and Uttal's. For example, Uttal suggests (pg. 200) that ``there is also a certain richness of thought and depth of understanding in considering any perceptual phenomenon to have multidimensional, rather than unidimensional, determinants.'' This is reminiscent of Gibson's emphasis on studying perceptual processes in the information rich environment in which they evolved. Further, Uttal is calling for re-emphasis on description of the relations between stimulus and perceptual result, and reduced emphasis on attempts to construct neural level models. This is similar to Gibson's argument for the Direct Perception of Aordances with no role for intervening or moderating processes. There is, of course, a contrast here as well. Uttal acknowledges the in¯uence of intervening constructs in perceptual processes but argues that modelling them is not feasible.
In addition to its value to cognitive and perceptual scientists, this book would make an excellent addition to any graduate level course in cognitive science. In particular Chapter Two might well be required reading for any course that takes a serious look at the modeling of mental processes. A feature I found particularly interesting is the treatment of neuroimaging techniques such as PET and fMRI. Uttal cites and discusses a number of recent papers and discusses the sometimes surprising assumptions that support the interpretation of such images. The clarity of prose throughout, as well as the straightforward structuring of arguments and presentation of data makes this book accessible to a more general audience as well, and I would recommend it as a companion piece (perhaps antidote) to any of the large number of recent books that tender an explanation of how such things as language, consciousness, or the mind work.