Since its first publication in 1923, this volume has been considered one of the great books in the literature of chemistry. In the early 1960s, well-known chemists Kenneth S. Pitzer and Leo Brewer revised and updated it, adding substantial material on solution thermodynamics, results in statistical mechanics, surfaces, gravitational and electromagnetic fields, and other areas.
Upon the second edition's 1961 publication, The Journal of Chemical Education noted: "The book will undoubtedly resume its place as a constant guide and reference for chemists using thermodynamics in their research, and as a textbook and reference for classes in the application of thermodynamics to chemistry." This new edition of a foundational work will be welcomed by teachers in the field.
For advanced undergraduates in chemistry and related fields.

Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946) was Dean of the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.
Merle Randall (1888–1950) was a colleague of Gilbert Newton Lewis on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley.
Kenneth S. Pitzer (1914–97) was a Professor and Dean of the College of Chemistry at Berkeley and later President of Rice University and Stanford University.
Leo Brewer (1919–2005) was also on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley.