Xilin Lu and a team of colleagues and graduate students have produced a reference for professionals who understand the structural design concept and have basic knowledge of structural materials, structural mechanics, and construction technology; it can also serve, he says, as a textbook for reference for teachers and students of civil engineering. They begin with explanations of the significance of structural retrofitting, the retrofitting procedure of building structures, and the principles of retrofitting design. Then they describe methods for inspecting and evaluating structures, considering such aspects as the mechanical performance of structural material, reinforcement disposition in concrete members, deformation of structures and members, and structural reliability. The rest of the volume focuses in turn on reinforced concrete, masonry, and wood structures. No citations are provided for the Chinese edition; the translation was by graduate students of structural engineering and disaster reduction at Tongji University. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)