X-ray Diffraction: A Practical Approach, C. Suryanarayana and M. Grant Norton, 1998. Plenum Press, New York and London. xiii + 273 pages. (hardback, $49.50, U.S. and Canada; $59.40, elsewhere).

It is the aim of this text to teach undergraduates majoring in materials science the use of powder X-ray diffraction for materials characterization. Since it does not treat X-ray diffraction and crystallography in a general way, it would have been better if it were given a more specific title, such as X-Ray Powder Diffraction for Metallurgical Characterization. A Primer and Workbook. As a laboratory course with work pages to be filled out by the student, it might have been spiral-bound to facilitate such use.