This volume is a selection of invaluable papers by P-G de Gennes — 1991 Nobel Prize winner in Physics — which have had a long-lasting impact on our understanding of condensed matter. Important ideas on polymers, liquid crystals and interfaces are described. The author has added some afterthoughts to the main papers (explaining their successes or weaknesses), and some current views on each special problem. The text is simple and easy to read.

Contents:

• Part I: Solid State
• Part II: Liquid Crystals
• Part III: Polymers
• Part IV: Interfaces
• Part V: Wetting and Adhesion
• Part VI: Chirality

Reviews of the first edition:

"This book collects a series of articles in which problems which had always been thought quite intractable are shown to be solved by simple, but clear thinking. Although the phrase 'simple views' is justified by the clarity of de Gennes' exposition, the problems had been unresolved for decades and it is a tribute to de Gennes' intuitive skill that he has been able to solve so many problems which are not only deep basic science, but also central in modern technology."

"For amateurs and connoisseurs — interested in physics, chemistry or biology — Pierre-Gilles de Gennes has opened his gentry-style cabinet de curiosités. Miscellaneous products of his inventive industry, including the famous and the unfamous, are brought together in this self-selected collection, accompanied with recent hindsightful remarks of the Nobel laureate."

"This volume of collected works of Pierre-Gilles de Gennes will be a valuable and stimulating source for many years to come for younger readers and for beginners in the subfields of condensed matter covered in this volume, as well as a useful and compact reference book for all workers in the field."

Review of the second edition:

"This book surely satisfies the requirements of those interested in this field of physics. On the whole I think that this book can give, especially to a young reader, a certain feeling about the enthusiasm and novelty of condensed matter research during the last three decades."