This book describes the research of Bowden, Yoffe and their collaborators on explosive initiation. What Bowden and Yoffe showed was that explosives are ignited almost invariably by thermal processes and though other processes have been identified their work still holds.

This classic work, originally published in 1950, was a landmark in the development of the subject of tribology. When it was first published, one reviewer wrote that it 'marks the beginning of a new epoch in the study of friction and lubrication .... The most interesting and comprehensive work on a single branch of physics I have ever read.' For the 1986 reprint David Tabor wrote a new preface, reviewing developments in the subject in the 36 years since the book first appeared. He has also added an appreciation of the life and work of F.P. Bowden, who died in 1968.

This work marks a stage in the evolution of a scientific and technical field which has been developed by the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) over several decades. Many members of the staff of the CEA have won re nown in this field, and their work has brought it to the high degree of excel lence for which it is internationally recognized today. These scientists had to consider every aspect of the field, as it concerned: modeling, which has recourse to fluid thermodynamics, molecular phys ics, and chemistry; numerical evaluation, which relies on mathematical analysis and data processing; and experiments in the firing area, which require specific stress generators and instrumentation. Whilst this book is a testament to the activity and success of staff of the CEA, it also reviews a number ofthe advances made in the discipline. How ever, it is not intended to be an exhaustive account of those advances; it is assumed that the reader can, if desired, consult the standard monographs, and more recent, more specialized works (notably W.C. Davis and W. Fickett, and C.L. Mader). The history of the discipline is interesting in itself, and also as an illustra tion of the causes which lead to progress in a coherent body of scientific work. I should like to make some comments on this progress, of which there is a fascinating summary in the introduction, and which will figure largely throughout the work.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Chemistry and Physics of the Molecular Processes in Energetic Materials, Altavilla Milicia, Sicily, Italy, September 3-15, 1989

Progress in Astronautics and Rocketry, Volume 6: Detonation and Two-Phase Flow compiles technical papers presented at the ARS Propellants, Combustion, and Liquid Rockets Conference held in Palm Beach, Florida on April 26-28, 1961. This book provides an excellent illustration of research and development on a selected group of problems relating to detonations, two-phase nozzle flow, and combustion in liquid fuel rocket engines. This volume is divided into two parts. Part 1 covers the entire range of physical conditions under which detonation may be initiated or sustained, such as high explosives, solid propellants, liquid sprays, and gases. Experimental and theoretical studies are also discussed, including the significant progress of the basic phenomena involved in transition from deflagration to detonation, and nature of stable detonations in dilute sprays and other systems. The perennial problems associated with high frequency instabilities in liquid fuel rocket engines are considered in Part 2. This publication is valuable to students and investigators working in the field of propulsion research and development.