June 1986 brought together some of the world's leaders in computer enhanced analytical spectroscopy at Snowbird, Utah, for what the attendees decided to call "The First Hidden Peak Symposium." With the remarkable advances in both computer hardware and software, it is interesting to observe that, while many computational aspects of spectroscopic analysis have become routine, some of the more fundamental problems remain unsolved. The group that assembled included many of those who started trying to interpret chemical spectroscopy when computers were ponderous, slow, and not very accessible, as well as newcomers who never knew the day that spectrometers were delivered without attached computers. The synergism was excellent. Many new ideas, as well as this volume, resulted from interactions among the participants. The conclusion was that progress would be made on more fundamen tal problems now that hardware, software, and mathematics were coming together on a more sophisticated level. The feeling was that the level of sophistication is now adequate and that it is only a matter of time before automated spectral interpretation surpasses all but the most advanced human experts.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

This second edition brings the collection up to date, including the newest research from the Communist side of the Cold War and the most recent debates on culture, race and intelligence.

Now on the verge of the new millennium, "Murphy's Law" is back to pay homage to a whole new world of things that can go wrong--from cable TV to the "Year 2000 Problem"--in a whole new collection of hilarious and undeniable rules, axioms, conundrums, and corollaries. Illustrations.