Our rationale for the second edition remains the same as for the first edition, which appeared over twenty years ago. This is to offer simplified, useful and easily understood methods for dealing with the creep of components operating under conditions met in practice. When the first edition was written, we could not claim that the methods which were introduced were well-tried. They were somewhat conjectural, although firmly based, but not sufficiently well devel oped. Since that time, the Reference Stress Methods (RSM) introduced in the book have received much scrutiny and development. The best recognition we could have of the original methods is the fact that they are now firmly embedded in codes of practice. Hopefully, we have now gone a long way towards achieving our original objectives. There are major additions to this second edition which should help to justify our claims. These include further clarification regarding Reference Stress Methods in Chapter 4. There are also new topics which depend on RSM in varying degrees: * Creep fracture is covered in Chapter 7, where methods for assessing creep crack initiation and crack growth are fully described. This chapter starts with a review of the basic concepts of fracture mechanics and follows with useful, approximate methods, compatible with the needs of design for creep and the availability of standard data. * Creep/fatigue interactions and environmental effects appear in Chapter 8.

Our rationale for the second edition remains the same as for the first edition, which appeared over twenty years ago. This is to offer simplified, useful and easily understood methods for dealing with the creep of components operating under conditions met in practice. When the first edition was written, we could not claim that the methods which were introduced were well-tried. They were somewhat conjectural, although firmly based, but not sufficiently well devel oped. Since that time, the Reference Stress Methods (RSM) introduced in the book have received much scrutiny and development. The best recognition we could have of the original methods is the fact that they are now firmly embedded in codes of practice. Hopefully, we have now gone a long way towards achieving our original objectives. There are major additions to this second edition which should help to justify our claims. These include further clarification regarding Reference Stress Methods in Chapter 4. There are also new topics which depend on RSM in varying degrees: * Creep fracture is covered in Chapter 7, where methods for assessing creep crack initiation and crack growth are fully described. This chapter starts with a review of the basic concepts of fracture mechanics and follows with useful, approximate methods, compatible with the needs of design for creep and the availability of standard data. * Creep/fatigue interactions and environmental effects appear in Chapter 8.

"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead," said Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change." -Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Carole is a modern day, career-driven woman who has little time for love and even less time for Christmas. While escaping the flirtation of a co-worker and the trappings of an office Christmas party, she meets a mysterious stranger. With this man, she travels back in time to 1843 London. There, she becomes a guest in the home of Charles Dickens, as he writes "A Christmas Carol." People and events that inspire Mr. Dickens become part of Carole's life. The secrets she learns about the man, his life, and his writing affect her in ways she could never have imagined. This novella is a story about love, life, the Christmas spirit, and redemption.

"All these forgotten souls. No one to tell their stories. No one to remember them. No one to care for their final resting place, as if their lives didn't matter at all. But every life matters..." Katherine Cooper is a young independent art student with a long history of unusual dreams and nightmares. After visiting an old cemetery she begins having nightmares in which she experiences the lives and deaths of the people buried there. But what if they aren't just dreams? When Kate starts questioning their true meaning she gets a mixed reaction from her friends and family. The one person who believes her is the strange woman who lives downstairs. Just who is this woman and how is she connected to Kate's dreams? And what does all of this mean for her future?