Book excerpt: The chapters making up this volume had originally been planned to form part of a single volume covering solid hydrates and aqueous solutions of simple molecules and ions. However, during the preparation of the manu scripts it became apparent that such a volume would turn out to be very unwieldy and I reluctantly decided to recommend the publication of sepa rate volumes. The most sensible way of dividing the subject matter seemed to lie in the separation of simple ionic solutions. The emphasis in the present volume is placed on ion-solvent effects, since a number of excellent texts cover the more general aspects of electrolyte solutions, based on the classical theories of Debye, Huckel, On sager, and Fuoss. It is interesting to speculate as to when a theory becomes "classical." Perhaps this occurs when it has become well known, well liked, and much adapted. The above-mentioned theories of ionic equilibria and transport certainly fulfill these criteria. There comes a time when the refinements and modifications can no longer be related to physical significance and can no longer hide the fact that certain fundamental assumptions made in the development of the theory are untenable, especially in the light of information obtained from the application of sophisticated molecular and thermodynamic techniques.