Jeffers (English, Cleveland State U. ) provides much food for thought in this ambitious, multi-disciplinary study on the nature of abstraction. Jeffers surveys the theory of color and symbol as these occur in philosophy from Hegel and Goethe through Deleuze and Lyotard. Simultaneously, the shift to achromatic, or non-color, painting is traced. Jeffers interweaves these histories with frequent reference to literary trends, frequently citing the works of Samuel Beckett. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR