Rather than an experimental guide for specific techniques, this handbook offers an overview of a wide range of characterization methodologies useful to materials scientist, engineers, and advanced students. MacKenzie (a technical specialist in Pennsylvania) and Totten (mechanical and materials engineering, Portland State U.) introduce methods specific to evaluating aluminum-, steel-, and iron-based superalloys, but applicable to other materials. International contributors to 16 chapters examine the microstructures of these materials, traditional and newer alloy preparation methods, general principles, and different methods of texture analysis for characterizing properties and detecting defects. Some 700 photomicrographs comprise an atlas of microstructures.