Michael B Bever (ed) 1986 Oxford: Pergamon price £1350 (8 volume set) ISBN 0 08 022158 0 During the last decade or so, it has become increasingly appreciated that materials science per se (loosely defined as the establishment of the relationships between structure and property) fails to satisfy the requirements of the engineer. For efficient use of materials, a designer must be aware of their potential applications, costs and behavioural characteristics under complex conditions often far removed from those determined in the materials science laboratory.