Provides a survey on the field of statistical mechanics. Based on a series of lectures, this book adopts a pedagogical approach. It distinguishes between general principles and their applications in solving problems. It emphasizes analogies between phase transitions in fluids and magnets using continuum and spin models.

The present book, however, is unique that it both is written in a very pedagogic, easily comprehensible style, and, nevertheless, goes from the basic principles all the way to these modern topics, containing several chapters on the various approaches of mean field theory, and a chapter on computer simulation.A characteristic feature of this book is that often first some qualitative arguments are given, or a "pedestrians' approach", and then a more general and/or more rigorous derivation is presented as well. Particularly useful are also "supplementary notes", pointing out interesting applications and further developments of the subject, a detailed bibliography, problems and historical notes, and many pedagogic figures.

PART I: THERMOSTATICS Basic Principles of Thermostatics Thermostatics of Phase Stability, Phase Equilibria and Phase Transitions PART II: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND RULES OF CALCULATION Rules of Calculation
Illustration with ideal/non-interacting Systems Fluctuations, Correlation and Response Functions Statistical Physics of Ideal Classical Gases Statistical Physics of Ideal Quantum Gases PART III: STATISTICAL MECHANICS OF INTERACTING SYSTEMS: BASIC CONCEPTS AND MEAN-FIELD THEORY OF PHASE TRANSITIONS Models of Interacting Systems and Thermodynamic Limit Exact Solution of Some Models of Interacting Systems Computer Simulation Methods in Statistical Mechanics
General Principles Mean-field Approximation I: Van der Waals-Weiss Formulation Exact Solution of Models with Infinite-Range Interaction or in Infinite Dimension Mean-field Approximation II: Landau Formulation Beyond mean-field approximation: scaling and renormalization group Rules of calculation revisited: foundations of statistical mechanics