German architect Otto has a unique way of looking at town planning. In this poetic collection of his thoughts on the subject, he draws on innumerable patterns in the natural world to demonstrate how areas of human occupancy have developed. He begins with occupancy, of individuals or groups, human or animal, plants, stones, water and even air and clouds. The chapters are as solid as walled cities or as ephemeral as thermal drafts. Otto then looks at connections from super highways to deer trails. Again he finds comparative patterns in human creations and nature. The illustrations, intentionally, resemble those of a molecular biology text. Otto seems to be arguing for a radical shift in how towns are planned, taking into account the rights of the rest of nature and fitting us into the patterns already in place. Distributed in the US by National Book Network. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)