The authors outline the aims of a good experiment, the philosophy of the experimental design, the right equipment and conditions to use for a given project, the problems encountered during experimentation and the pitfalls of data interpretation. Examples are drawn from a welcome range of geological topics, reflecting the wide applicability of modern experimental petrology...Holloway and Wood have produced a text of great clarity which will satisfy a wide audience...It will be a popular teaching text. It deserves also to achieve its aim of swelling the ranks of experimentalist. - Journal of Petrology.