SHAPING SPACE; A POLYHEDRAL APPROACH
M Senechal, G Fleck eds.
284 pp, Birkhauser, 1988 
$49.95, ISBN 0-8176-3351-0

REVIEW BY:
Peter Beck; Rubik's Cube Collector

Other reviews:
SCITECH BOOK NEWS, V12, APR 88, P3
AMERICAN SCIENTIST, V77, JAN 89, P72

Shaping Space, the book, was inspired by the Shaping Space Conference
held at Smith College in April 1984. The content of the book
addresses itself to an interdisciplinary readership and should be
considered as a cornerstone book in guiding any level of reader on an
exploration of the Polyhedron Kingdom. It encourages readers to
experience polyhedra directly, by including recipes for construction
as well as numerous illustrations (188 line and 174 halftone
illustrations).

The book is organized in five parts with parts 1,2 &5 of greater
interest to the beginning explorer.

Part 1 is an introduction to polyhedra which includes a chapter on
making polyhedra ,ie, Chapter 2 "Five Recipes for Making Polyhedra."
Part 2 is an interdisciplinary overview of polyhedra which includes a
chapter on "Milestones in the History of Polyhedra" (chapter 4), a
chapter on "Polyhedra and Crystal Structures" (chapter 5),and a
chapter on "Spatial Perception and Creativity" (chapter 7), and
concludes with a chapter on "Why Study Polyhedra?" (chapter 8).
Part 3 is about the roles of polyhedra in science.
Part 4 is the theory of polyhedra.
Part 5 is a discussion on incorporating the teaching of polyhedra in
the curriculum. Included in part 5 is a resource guide that is
organized in the following categories:
A. Architecture
B. Art
C. Geometry
D. Instructional and Recreational Materials
E. Science
F. Symmetry

In addition to the resource guide each chapter has its own list of
references. The book has a comprehensive index of 10 pages and it
also has a list of the conference contributors addresses.