... the present book is more carefully directed at the graduate student level, includes numerous exercises, and has its emphasis more on the harmonic analysis side. Such a presentation is much needed. The detailed exposition, careful choice of organization and notation, and very helpful collection of exercises, mostly of medium difficulty, all attest to the effort put into this joint venture. As a highly readable and accessible presentation of Jordan algebras and their applications to Riemannian geometry and harmonic analysis, the book is strongly recommended to all analysts (starting at graduate level) working in the multi-variable setting of symmetric spaces and Lie groups. Bulletin of the London Mathematical Society