Randomness is a fundamental characteristic of sea waves, Goda (Yokohama National U.) points out, and neglecting it leads to gross errors in engineering assessment of maritime structures. The first part of his book provides practicing engineers with design tools to deal with random seas. The second serves as a textbook on random wave theory for graduate students. The third deals with the methodology of extreme wave analysis for a selection of design wave heights. The final section, new to this edition, overviews beach morphological problems from the viewpoint of coastal managers and field engineers, who tend to be unacquainted with research works. The Japanese version has been published in 1977, 1990, and 2007; the English in 1985 by the University of Tokyo Press and 2000 by World Scientific. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)