Continuum Mechanics Through the Twentieth Century

• Preface.- 1. The land clearers and the “classics”.- 2. Transition to the 20th century.- 3. Rheology and nonlinear elasticity.- 4. The ASME spirit.- 5. Axiomatization and thermo-mechanics.- 6. The British school of elasticity, plasticity and defects: Applied mathematics.- 7. The French masters.- 8. The Polish strength.- 9. German revival in continuum mechanics after WWII.- 10. European miscellanei and Asia.- 11. The Soviet and Russian schools.- 12. Continuum mechanics and electromagnetism.- 13. Generalized continuum mechanics: Various paths.- 14. Configurational mechanics.- 15. Relativistic continuum mechanics: A 20th century adventure.- 16. Epilogue.- Appendix: Selected biographies of mechanicians.- Index.

From the book reviews: "This work is a gem. It is a must read for students and practitioners of continuum mechanics of solids who are interested in the historical development of the discipline and its current growth directions. ... The historical scope is breathtaking, as the author takes the reader on a grand tour that is both historical and geographical. The tour is also professional and personal. ... the book is well written and a very welcome contribution to the field." (Meir Shillor, Mathematical Reviews, May, 2014) "This book ... is a great read about the historical development of continuum mechanics. ... Researchers and practitioners in science and engineering should enjoy this historical survey of the developments that led to the unified theories in continuum mechanics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners." (R. N. Laoulache, Choice, Vol. 51 (5), January, 2014) "A short review of prehistory of continuum mechanics till the end of the 19th century to give the starting point or the state of art at the turn of the century. ... we can highly recommend this book to anyone working in the field." (Albrecht Bertram, zbMATH, Vol. 1277, 2014)