This book is a technical text on physical metallurgy, the science of creating useful metals and alloys. The author, Y. Lakhtin, was a Soviet professor. The book was translated from its original Russian to English and published by MIR Publishers, a Soviet publishing house known for printing scientific and technical books for an international audience. The inscription on the title page, "Ahmed Badawi, June 1976," indicates a previous owner and the date they acquired it.