Fracture... We encounter it every day. every hour. Here a feeble blade of grass, so green and undaunted, has victoriously shot through the asphalt pavement. H ow could this hap­ pen? There a mighty metal structure that was expected to stand for ages suddenly broke. . . Why? W hat causes disaster and fracture in a world of the strongest materials? How*docs a microcrack behave? From whence its strength and treachery? How is man learning to control this terrible force and to turn it to hisown advantage? The author answers these questions and many others. The easy, natural manner of narration and the poetic quota­tions illustrating the author’s conceptions make the book interesting as well as instruc­tive.The book is intended for the general public, for all those who want to understand one of Nature’s greatest mysteries. But it is primarily addressed to young people faced with the problem of choosing a profession.Translated from the Russian by Y. NadlerOriginal Scan by Guptaji