Wallenstein (philosophy, University of Södertörn and architectural theory, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) takes Foucault's concept of "biopolitics" the treating of a state as if it were a conscious entity, and applies it to architecture, especially that of hospitals. He concentrates first on hospital design during the early 1800s in France and closes with contemporary buildings. Wallenstein contrasts Foucault's ideas of biopolitics with that of Agamben determining that the latter fills in gaps in the theories of the former. He arrives at hospitals as a sort of laboratory for the implementation of new architectural ideas of biopolitics. The second half of the book is a visual tour of hospital designs following early eighteenth century French models and their continuation in contemporary designs. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)