Book excerpt: Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data provides a concise compilation of data and functional relationships from the fields of solid-state physics and materials in this 1200 page volume. The data, encapsulated in 914 tables and 1025 illustrations, have been selected and extracted primarily from the extensive high-quality data collection Landolt-Börnstein and also from other systematic data sources and recent publications of physical and technical property data. Many chapters are authored by Landolt-Börnstein editors, including the prominent Springer Handbook editors, W. Martienssen and H. Warlimont themselves. The Handbook is designed to be useful as a desktop reference for fast and easy retrieval of essential and reliable data in the lab or office. References to more extensive data sources are also provided in the book and by interlinking to the relevant sources on the enclosed CD-ROM. Physicists, chemists and engineers engaged in fields of solid-state sciences and materials technologies in research, development and application will appreciate the ready access to the key information coherently organized within this wide-ranging Handbook. From the reviews: "...this is the most complete compilation I have ever seen... When I received the book, I immediately searched for data I never found elsewhere..., and I found them rapidly... No doubt that this book will soon be in every library and on the desk of most solid state scientists and engineers. It will never be at rest." -Physicalia Magazine