"THIS EPOCH-MAKING BOOK, FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1954, PRESENTS AN INCREASINGLY INFLUENTIAL APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF MAN'S SURVIVAL IN AN UNMASTERED, OFTEN CHAOTIC, TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT. NEUTRA SHOWS THAT THIS MAN-MADE ENVIRONMENT IS OVERTAXING THE ADAPTABLILTIY OF OUR ANCIENT NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE UNIQUNESS OF NEUTRA'S APPROACH LIES IN DIRECTING US TO THE STUDY OF BASIC AND SUBTLE ORGANIC RESPONSES IN ORDER TO DISCOVER THE PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING A VITAL SETTING- WHICH HE HOLDS CANNOT BE DERIVED FROM BUILDING TECHNIQUES, "UTILITARIAN" FUNCTION, OR FAST CHANGING STYLISTIC CLICHES. HE MAKES INNOVATIVE, PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE BILOLGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES FOR ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY PLANNING".