First Impressions

This week's First Impressions, the competition in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, comes from a philosopher with an interest in robots: "Suppose evil scientists removed your brain from your body while you slept, and set it up in a life-support system in a vat."

Entries to First Impressions, The THES, Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1 9XY, faxed to 0171-782 3300 or emailed to theschat@thes.co.uk

The winner receives a Pounds 20 book token and the closing date is May 20.

The winner of last week's competition , who identified Ernest Gellner's Conditions of Liberty: Civil Society and its Rivals, is George Schopflin, University of London.