Lighting has something like the power of life and death over interior design. Well planned lighting can bring a room to life, and thoughtless lighting can kill even the most creative interiors. Light has the power to influence emotions, so lighting for a house is part technology and part psychology. Simply altering a light source can make people feel better about a room or task (Learning Seed, USA).

The City of Light. For many, these four words instantly conjure late nineteenth-century Paris and the garish colors of Toulouse-Lautrec's iconic posters. More recently, the Eiffel Tower's nightly show of sparkling electric lights has come to exemplify our fantasies of Parisian nightlife. Though we reflect longingly on such scenes, in Illuminated Paris, Hollis Clayson shows that there's more to these cliches than meets the eye. In this richly illustrated...