Actually this would be a delightful book to place in the hands of newcomers to the field, for it provides many of the essentials while leaving plenty of issues open to argument...The [authors] are to be commended for accomplishing [their] goals with admirable freshness and clarity.

• Linear systems analysis; Optics; Retino-geniculate anatomy and physiology; Striate cortex; Contrast sensitivity and acuity; Multiple spatial-frequency channels; Sensitivity to color variations; Spatial localization: phase and position; Two-dimensional patterns; Analysis of three-dimensionally-varying patterns; Nonlinearities; Why localized spatial frequency filtering?.