The scientific description of processes involved in the powerful release of energy from high explosive materials remains one of the most complex problems confronting modern science. In spite of fifty years of concentrated research built upon careful and precise experiments and the massive use of modern computers, the problem remains a major challenge. Anatoliy N. Dremin is recognized as perhaps the most innovative contributor to detonation science and this book provides unique insights into the physics, chemistry, and mechanics relevant to initiation and sustenance of detonation processes. The book presents theories, both conventional and unusual, for describing the processes as well as the experimental challenges to theory and modeling. An unusually valuable contribution to modern science, it will be required reading for any serious student of energetic materials and powerful, high-energy processes.