This highly accessible presentation of LISP is the most comprehensive introduction to common LISP available. Divides material into two parts; the tutorial half of the book: covers subject-by-subject the essential core of Common Lisp. sums up lessons of preceding chapters in two examples of real applications: a backward- chainer, and an embedded language for object-oriented programming. An outstanding reference consisting of three appendices, the summary half of the text: gives source code for a widely used Common Lisp operators, with definitions that offer a comprehensive explanation of the language and provide a rich source of real examples. summarizes differences between ANSI Common Lisp and Common Lisp as it was originally defined in 1984. contains a concise description of every function, macro, and special operator in ANSI Common Lisp. Concludes with a section of notes containing clarifications, references, and additional code.