"[An] encyclopedic survey of post-Renaissance curios."
Publishers Weekly

"Compelling ... admirably condenses centuries of experimentation into a short essay."
Library Journal

"[This] amply illustrated, 400-page catalog probes deeply into social, technological and philosophical influences on the act of seeing."
Los Angeles Times

"The book itself becomes a device of wonder, a wonderkamer that temporarily halts rush of space and time in a flurry of fascinating and perlexing images and compelling argument."
Leonardo

"Anyone who is fascinated by visual images and by how they may be manipulated to extraordinary effect will thoroughly enjoy this book."
New Scientist