"In spite of the very large number of books dealing with thermodynamics and statistical physics, there remains room for new contributions. This book, by a contemporary master of thermodynamics, can fairly lay claim to being such a contribution. "The book takes the form of a collection of papers more or less integrated with one another but not completely so. That is, there are long commentaries set out as papers which serve to connect reprints of the author's original research, and which also provide historical information and background. Indeed, it is the interesting mixture of historical information with attention to the nature of the postulates required and with emphasis on the logical structure of the thermodynamic theory that makes this book so valuable. In addition to a description of classical thermodynamics, there are also papers dealing with the statistical thermodynamics of equilibrium phenomena, critical fluctuations, and the role of fluctuations in irreversible phenomena. "In the domain of equilibrium theory, Professor Tisza discusses his own extensions of that theory, especially the role of non-classical variables that account for symmetry properties of a medium." —American Scientist