Book excerpt: This volume provides a record of the second ASI on the subject "Chemical Physics of Intercalation", which was patterned after its highly successful July 1987 predecessor. A growing community of chemists, physicists and materials scientists has come to appreciate the utility of extending the intercalation concept to generic guest-host compounds and solid solutions. The unifying themes are the complex phase equilibria which result from the competition between repulsive and attractive interactions between and within the guest and host substructures, the tunability of properties by control of guest concentration and superlattice periodicity, and the broad spectrum of potential applications which these materials may provide. The success of this initiative may be judged by noting the enlarged scope of materials covered in this volume as compared to its predecessor. The present volume covers the spectrum from 3-dimensional oxides, 2-dimensional classical layer intercalates,- dimensional doped polymers and zero-dimensional doped fullerene lattices. Hybrid systems such as polymers in layer hosts and nonporous hosts are also treated. Several chapters provide global unifying viewpoints by focussing on sold state chemical aspects, transport and optical properties, the occurrence of superconductivity, etc.