'The preface ... either serves for the explanation of the purpose of the book, or for justification and as an answer to critics'. Lermontov This book is based mainly on the lectures on the Chemistry of Glasses which I gave at the University of Sheffield to the final year honours and postgraduate students of Glass Technology and Materials Science. Most books reflect the interests and enthusiasm of their authors, and the present one is no exception. The chemistry of glass is a rapidly developing field because the frontiers of advanced chemistry and advanced physics are merging together and con­ sequently this book will soon require considerable amplification and modification. However, my experience in teaching the chemistry of glasses for more than a decade has shown me that there is much need for a good text-book on the subject. This book is therefore intended to be a stop-gap which, until it receives that new revision. may serve as a useful reference work for students and research workers alike. I gratefully acknowledge the influence on my thinking of many of those colleagues at Sheffield with whom I have been in contact during the past twenty years or so. In addition to these personal influences, other published works have had considerable influence in modifying my approach. especially Cotton and Wilkinson's Advanced inorganic Chemistry. Dr Peter James helped me in writing Chapter 2, and Professor Peter McMillan not only read the whole manuscript but also made a number of most helpful suggestions.