This week's First Impressions, the competition in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, comes from a scholar who helped an architect to solve an ancient riddle: "The urge to discover secrets is deeply ingrained in human nature; even the least curious mind is roused by the promise of sharing knowledge withheld from others."
Entries should be submitted 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 December 9. The winner of last week's competition, who identified Captain Swing by Eric Hobsbawm and George Rude, is Richard Sheldon of the University of East London.