From the book reviews:
"This is the softcover reprint of a monograph that was awarded the Ferran Sunyer i Balaguer prize in 1996. It is devoted to a recurring theme in number theory, namely that the non-vanishing of L-functions implies important arithmetical results. ... Giving a well-informed overview of related results it will continue to be an important source of information for graduate students and researchers ... ." (Ch. Baxa, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 173, 2014)
Award-winning monograph of the Ferran Sunyer i Balagure Prize 1996. This book systematically develops some methods for proving the non-vanishing of certain L-functions at points in the critical strip. Researchers in number theory, graduate students who wish to enter into the area and non-specialists who wish to acquire an introduction to the subject will benefit by a study of this book. One of the most attractive features of the monograph is that it begins at a very basic level and quickly develops enough aspects of the theory to bring the reader to a point the latest discoveries as are presented in the final chapters can be fully appreciated.