Providing an overview of materials science is a worthy goal, and Segal's writing is clear and engaging. * Melinda Baldwin, Physics Today * A fascinating read, with a wide coverage which is bound to tell you something new about materials you know, or to introduce you to materials you had not met before. * A.H. Harker, Contemporary Physics * The book is written at a "technical level" and will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students. It can also serve as a reference work for technical libraries ... Recommended * CHOICE * Segal offers a refreshing and unifying overview of modern materials, including the latest nano-materials, nicely combining chemistry and solid-state physics and effectively bringing in patent literature. The wide-ranging extended Glossary, containing substantial paragraph-length entries with references, seems particularly valuable. * Ed Wolf, New York University Tandon School of Engineering * The book is well structured and written, covers a variety of interesting topics and has a fantastic glossary. The entries include references to the literature that enable the interested reader to find pertinent reading material that will encourage their voyage of discovery into the field. The book should be an accessible and useful reference for high school students, undergraduates, postgraduates, academics and industrialists. * John G. Hardy, Lancaster University, UK *