Presenting a unified approach, this book focuses on the theoretical concepts and methods necessary for understanding the physics and chemistry of the fluid state. Important ideas are presented concisely and illustrated with examples from simple molecular liquids and more complex soft condensed matter systems such as polymers, colloids, and liquid crystals.

Intended for graduate students in physics and chemistry, this book touches on granular matter, protein folding, phase separating and evolution kinetics. Taking glasses as a central theme, it presents the problem of slow dynamics from several angles, a ubiquitous feature in condensed matter, mechanics and biological physics. Some of the best established workers in the field present different theoretical and experimental approaches to the subject.