Book excerpt: Designed as a basic and introductory reference, this book not only addresses stainless steels in the light of their resistance to corrosion for which they are more commonly recognised, but also explains the wide range of other useful properties attributable to the various and specific categories of these alloys. This book is a concise, easy-to-read introduction to one of the most widely used industrial materials. Each chapter explains an important concept related to the selection, application, processing and use of stainless steels. This book is indexed and includes appendices: (1) Identification of Stainless Steels in Service (2) Toxicity of Stainless Steel (3) Table of Equivalent Designations (this is not intended to be complete, but includes the more commonly used stainless steels and the most widely used designation systems). First published in 1965 and updated in 1986, this third edition is a completely new text.