Book excerpt: Four decades ago, J.P. Den Hartog, then Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote Strength of Materials, an elementary text that still enjoys great popularity in engineering schools throughout the world. Widely used as a classroom resource, it has also become a favorite reference and refresher on the subject among engineers everywhere. This is the first paperback edition of an equally successful text by this highly respected engineer and author. Advanced Strength of Materials takes this important subject into areas of greater difficulty, masterfully bridging its elementary aspects and its most formidable advanced reaches. The book reflects Den Hartog's impressive talent for making lively, discursive and often witty presentations of his subject, and his unique ability to combine the scholarly insight of a distinguished scientist with the practical, problem-solving orientation of an experienced industrial engineer. The concepts here explored in depth include torsion, rotating disks, membrane stresses in shells, bending of flat plates, beams on elastic foundation, the two-dimensional theory of elasticity, the energy method and buckling. The presentation is aimed at the student who has a one-semester course in elementary strength of materials. The book includes an especially thorough and valuable section of problems and answers which give both students and professionals practice in techniques and clear illustrations of applications.