This book explains the thermodynamics and kinetics of most of the important phase transitions in materials science. It is a textbook, so the emphasis is on explanations of phenomena rather than a scholarly assessment of their origins. The goal is explanations that are concise, clear, and reasonably complete. The level and detail are appropriate for upper division undergraduate students and graduate students in materials science andmaterials physics. The book should also be useful for researchers who are not specialists in these fields. The book is organized for approximately sequential coverage in a graduate-level course. The four parts of the book serve different purposes, however, and should be approached differently"--