From the reviews: "The book approaches the blow-up theories for semilinear parabolic equations using maximum principles and a priori estimates. ... this book is an excellent mathematical monograph and a valuable reference for researchers in the field of nonlinear partial differential equations. This book also clearly benefits instructors who need a solid and updated text for a topic course in partial differential equations. The author has produced a commendable work of scholarly achievement." (Hongwei Chen, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2012 i) "These lecture notes are intended for graduate students ... of basic theory of second-order parabolic and elliptic equations. ... At the end of each chapter, there is a set of well-chosen exercises. ... It is a nice addition to the existing literature on blow-up since the previous books were mostly intended for more advanced readers." (Marek Fila, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1226, 2012)