"Ashby (emeritus) and Jones (both Cambridge U.) have made considerable changes to the 2005 third edition (the first edition was published in 1980), among them new illustrative photographs, references to reliable websites, and worked examples to many of the chapters. The textbook is for a first course on materials for undergraduate engineering students, holding up one corner of a curriculum that includes design, mechanics, and structures. It covers price and availability; the elastic moduli; yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility; fast fracture, brittle fracture, and toughness; fatigue failure; creep deformation and fracture; oxidation and corrosion; and friction, abrasion, and wear."--Reference & Research Book News October 2012