Book Reviews

Mead and Conway´s Introduction to VLSI Systems is a survey of integrated circuit technology and VLSI system science. Presented in a manner more dependent on intuition than on rigorous lines of reasoning, the material may be easily understood by persons from a variety of backgrounds. By liberally using anecdotes and comparisons to everyday experience, the authors have made the text pleasurable reading; it should be recommended to those outside the computer and chip communities who wish to learn something about these fields without getting bogged down in details. The range of topics covered also make it ideal additional reading in computer science survey courses. Finally, this text removes some of the mystique of integrated circuit design by reassuring experienced logic designers, through numerous examples, that traditional design techniques and requirements still apply.