Professor Alberto Carpinteri has been the Chair of Structural Mechanics at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy, since 1986. During this period, he has held different positions of responsibility, including head of the Department of Structural Engineering (1989-1995) and founding member and director of the Postgraduate School in Structural Engineering (1990-). He is the president of the International Congress on Fracture, ICF (2009-2013) and has been the President of the European Structural Integrity Society, ESIS (2002-2006) and the International Association of Fracture Mechanics for Concrete and Concrete Structures, IA-FraMCoS (2004-2007). He has been a member of the Congress Committee of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, IUTAM (2004-2012) and is a member of the Executive Board of the Society for Experimental Mechanics, SEM (2012-2014). Since 2012, he has been the editor-in-chief of the international journal Meccanica. Professor Carpinteri has received numerous honors and awards, among them the Robert L'Hermite Medal from RILEM (1982), the Griffith Medal from ESIS (2008), the Swedlow Memorial Lecture Award from ASTM (2011), and the Paul Paris Gold Medal from ICF (2013).For more information, see Professor Carpinteri’s profile at Politecnico di Torino.

• 1. Introduction 2. Geometry of Areas 3. Kinematics and Statics of Rigid Body Systems 4. Determination of Constraint Reactions 5. Internal Beam Reactions 6. Statically Determinate Beam Systems 7. Analysis of Strain and Stress 8. Theory of Elasticity 9. Saint Venant Problem 10. Beams and Plates in Flexure 11. Statically Indeterminate Beam Systems: Method of Forces 12. Energy Methods for the Solution of Beam Systems Appendices: A. Calculation of the Internal Reactions in a Circular Arch Subjected to a Radial Hydrostatic Load B. Calculation of the Internal Reactions in a Circular Arch Subjected to a Uniformly Distributed Vertical Load C. Anisotropic Material D. Heterogeneous Beam E. Heterogeneous Plate F. Finite Difference Method G. Torsion of Multiply Connected Thin-Walled Cross-Sections

"It is a book useful for advanced-level students, unifying the contents usually one could find in separate textbooks of statics, strength of materials, and engineering mechanics. The book covers the whole spectrum from kinematics and statics of rigid systems to energy methods and failure phenomena. ... It is a very good complementary advanced textbook."—Dr. Michael Sakellariou, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece"The approach is undoubtedly suitable to undergraduate students who deal with structural problems for the first time: the text is clear and even the most complex subjects are treated in a relatively simple way, easily approachable by common students of structural engineering and even architecture. ... It is one of the most complete and comprehensive books on the fundamentals of structural mechanics."—Professor Claudio Alessandri, University of Ferrara, Italy"This book builds on the strong and traditional approach to the strength of materials and mechanics of solids of the Italian school of structural mechanics, to give a complete and up-to-date treatment of classical statics of structures."—Maurizio Angelillo, University of Salerno, Italy