'Bob' Tyson has been at the forefront of 'Adaptive Optics' since the days of the Star Wars projects when he worked on the high-energy laser weapons systems. In 1999, he moved to the real world of astronomy at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. He has published a string of books on the burgeoning art of forming reliable images from distorted wave fronts. His last commission by The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) was for a manuscript that would introduce those of us who missed out on this revolutionary advance in technology to the principals of 'Adaptive Optics'. He has succeeded with humour and rigour; puns fly amid a stream of tales. It is rare for an expert to write in such a way that the layman of the optics world giggles first and thinks after; then he realises that a new vista has been opened up. The map of this new technology is clearly laid out alongside with a music hall Barbie and Ken (sorry Barbara and Kenneth) story which goes some way to echo the distortions of perception produced by an accumulation of 20 cm blocks of air.

This book is fun, it is memorable and it represents superb teaching; of course the aspiring professional will need one of Tyson's many other books with their 1000 or so up-to-date references but 'Lighter Side' awakens the interest and will be part of my library as well as that of my high school. Everything is there in a condensed and accurate form and the power of this technology is evident; it is well indexed and the references are sufficient and up-to-date. It will inspire all who read it and will encourage many to join the field, perhaps even some medics for whom this idea is entirely new and, at least in the eye, has immense power.

It was inspired for the SPIE editors to have the idea and for 'Bob' to have the confidence to go down this unconventional route to proselytise this powerful and difficult technology. (R.S. Shorter, Winchester College)