"This beautifully written new book is a welcome addition... It is almost entirely self-contained, only assuming some basic group theory and linear algebra, yet it takes one to the forefront of recent advances in the area. It would be entirely suitable for a single semester or year-long graduate course, as it is replete with examples and exercises of varying difficulty. I suspect it will also find its way on to the shelf as a valuable reference work for researchers in the field, as it is an excellent complement to books of Kleshchev, Sagan, James, and James and Kerber." David John Hemmer, Mathematical Reviews