Book excerpt: A large variety of materials prove to be fascinating in solid state and condensed matter physics. New materials create new physics, which is spearheaded by the international experimental expert, Prof Yoshichika Onuki. Among them, the f electrons of rare earth and actinide compounds typically exhibit a variety of characteristic properties, including spin and charge orderings, spin and valence fluctuations, heavy fermions, and anisotropic superconductivity. These are mainly manifestations of better competitive phenomena between the RKKY interaction and the Kondo effect. The present text is written so as to understand these phenomena and the research they prompt. For example, superconductivity was once regarded as one of the more well-understood many-body problems. However, it is, in fact, still an exciting phenomenon in new materials. Additionally, magnetism and superconductivity interplay strongly in heavy fermion superconductors. The understanding of anisotropic superconductivity and magnetism is a challenging problem in solid state and condensed matter physics. This book will tackle all these topics and more.