Mechanical engineering, an engineering discipline born of the needs of the industrial revolution, is once again asked to do its substantial share in the call for industrial renewal. The general call is urgent as we face profound issues of productivity and competitiveness that require engineering solutions, among others. The Mechanical Engineering Series features graduate texts and re search monographs intended to address the need for information in contem porary areas of mechanical engineering. The series is conceived as a comprehensive one that covers a broad range of concentrations important to mechanical engineering graduate education and research. We are fortunate to have a distinguished roster of consulting editors on the advisory board, each an expert in one of the areas of concentra tion. The names of the consulting editors are listed on the preceding page of this volume. The areas of concentration are applied mechanics, biomechanics, computational mechanics, dynamic systems and control, energetics, mechan ics of materials, processing, thermal science, and tribology. Professor Leckie, the consulting editor for applied mechanics, and I are pleased to present the second edition of the third volume of the series: Theory of Wire Rope by Professor Costello. The selection of this volume underscores again the interest ofthe Mechanical Engineering Series to provide our readers with topical monographs as well as graduate texts.