This accessible volume provides a modern treatment of the cosmological and string-theoretic background necessary to understand inflation in string theory.

The author – a leading theoretical cosmologist – expands on his widely acclaimed lecture notes in this self-contained textbook, suitable for the advanced undergraduate or starting graduate level. Presenting the key theoretical foundations of cosmology and describing the observations that have turned the subject into a precision science, the author keeps the student in mind on every page by explaining concepts step-by-step, in an approachable manner. After describing the dynamics of the homogeneous universe, the book traces the evolution of small density fluctuations, which were created quantum-mechanically during inflation and are today observed in the cosmic microwave background and the large-scale structure of the universe. The book is ideally suited as a course companion or for self-study. With all necessary background material covered, students have everything they need to establish an unrivalled understanding of the subject. Complete with many worked examples, figures, and homework problems, this textbook is a definitive resource for advanced students in physics, astronomy and applied mathematics.

The Physics of InflationBy Daniel Baumann

Edited by Yilmaz Dziewior, Janneke de Vries. Interviews by Yilmaz Dziewior, Daniel Baumann, Scott Rothkopf, Janneke de Vries.

Published to accompany the exhibition held at the Tate Modern, London, 8 February - 14 May 2006 and touring to K21, Dusseldorf, 10 June - 10 September 2006.

Beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated, this volume traces the path of Wolfli's art on its long road from the asylum to the museum.

Saâdane Afif's illustrated monograph, titled Technical Specifications builds upon Afif's eponymous exhibition at Witte de With and explores his multiform practice to date. The book also features a CD recording of 53:56 some words, the radio program created as an integral part of the Witte de With exhibition and broadcast across the Netherlands throughout the summer. The two writers, Daniel Baumann and Ina Blom, who were invited to respond to the exhibition have evoked the way in which Afif's practice is reminiscent of a hall of mirrors: self-reflexive to the point of Narcissism, whilst at the same time exemplary of an openness and intellectual generosity that is rarely seen in contemporary art. Designed by the Paris-based duo de Valence.

The first complete catalogue on John McCrackens work. John McCracken (Berkeley, California, 1934) is an internationally famous American artist known principally for what he defines as blocks, slabs, columns, planks. Basic, beautiful forms, neutral forms. The starting point for such neutral forms is the minimalist object or primary structure such as the cube or plank. Made in plywood and then covered in fibreglass and polyester resin and lacquered in bold colours, the neutral forms transform into objects that knowingly bring together Minimal Art trends with the colours of the automobile industry and the idea of a mental and immaterial space. McCraken, famous mainly for these minimalist, spiritual, enigmatic, irresistibly beautiful sculptures and paintings was then a prominent artist on the international artistic scene in the 1970s for his Mandala cycle of paintings.