This series of publications was first planned by Domb and Green in 1970. During the previous decade the research literature on phase transitions and critical phenomena had grown rapidly and, because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field, it was scattered among physical, chemical, mathematical and other journals. Much of this literature was of ephemeral value, and was rapidly rendered obsolete. However, a body of established results had accumulated, and the aim was to produce articles that would present a coherent account of all that was definitely known about phase transitions and critical phenomena, and that could serve as a
standard reference, particularly for graduate students.