"This book is beautifully and clearly written and contains many illustrations and examples but also many deep results. It is my opinion that this book will become a standard work in mathematical literature and will be used by many people, from undergraduates to specialists." K. Dekimpe in "Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde", June 2001 "In conclusion, it can be said that the book is an indispensable reference and a very useful tool for graduate students who want to learn this theory as well as for researchers working in the subject. The exposition is clear, the proofs are complete, and some of the advanced results that are discussed are original. Every section of the book contains interesting historical remarks and comments." A. Papadopoulos in "Zentralblatt fur Mathematik und ihre Grenzgebiete", 2002