this book is an impressive compilation of classical and current knowledge of plastic deformation and fracture in materials. the first section reviews generalized hooke's law and discusses macroscopic aspects of plastic deformation, followed by an excellent summary of current dislocation theory and its application to the mechanical behavior of crystalline solids. a separate chapter on deformation twinning and texturing is followed by a chapter on high-temperature deformation, which includes temperature-stress-strain rate relationships, superplasticity, and deformation mechanism maps. a concise chapter on plastic deformation brings the first section to a close. the second section, "fracture mechanics of engineering materials," covers more than a simple presentation of continuum mechanics and transition temperature approach to fracture. design philosophy, the use of fracture mechanics for predicting behavior, is emphasized. chapters on the effect of microstructural and metallurgical variables, as well as environmental factors, on fracture toughness are included. the author's expertise in fatigue and fatigue crack propagation allows him to extract important concepts from the literature. the only shortcoming is the one-page treatment of fatigue crack initiation, which is crucial in high-cycle fatigue. the final chapter applies fracture mechanics systematically to failure analysis, with six case histories and emphasis on different approaches to analyzing failure. this book is a well-written source of information for mechanical metallurgists and design engineers seeking to update themselves on recent progress in material deformation and fracture. applications of concepts to real problems are included in several sections. the book is also suitable as a text for a first-year graduate course on the mechanical behavior of materials. it includes extensive reference lists and problems at the end of each chapter.this book is an impressive compilation of classical and current knowledge of plastic deformation and fracture in materials. the first section reviews generalized hooke's law and discusses macroscopic aspects of plastic deformation, followed by an excellent summary of current dislocation theory and its application to the mechanical behavior of crystalline solids. a separate chapter on deformation twinning and texturing is followed by a chapter on high-temperature deformation, which includes temperature-stress-strain rate relationships, superplasticity, and deformation mechanism maps. a concise chapter on plastic deformation brings the first section to a close. the second section, "fracture mechanics of engineering materials," covers more than a simple presentation of continuum mechanics and transition temperature approach to fracture. design philosophy, the use of fracture mechanics for predicting behavior, is emphasized. chapters on the effect of microstructural and metallurgical variables, as well as environmental factors, on fracture toughness are included. the author's expertise in fatigue and fatigue crack propagation allows him to extract important concepts from the literature. the only shortcoming is the one-page treatment of fatigue crack initiation, which is crucial in high-cycle fatigue. the final chapter applies fracture mechanics systematically to failure analysis, with six case histories and emphasis on different approaches to analyzing failure. this book is a well-written source of information for mechanical metallurgists and design engineers seeking to update themselves on recent progress in material deformation and fracture. applications of concepts to real problems are included in several sections. the book is also suitable as a text for a first-year graduate course on the mechanical behavior of materials. it includes extensive reference lists and problems at the end of each chapter.