I heard Brian Eno mention Mr. Alexander's writings in an interview on KPFA in Berkeley in 1988. BE talked about finding Alexander's thinking and writing quite fascinating, even to non-architecture oriented folks.

A few years later I saw some reference to Chris Alexander on Usenet and thought maybe I should explore further. But I never bothered. Then last week my girlfriend saw something on TV on Mr. Alexander, possibly a Nova episode, and she was fascinated enough to seek out two books by him.

I've only had a few minutes to browse one of the books, but I think I can see why Eno would find it of interest.

....