Few phenomena have stirred the imaginations of solar scientists as much as the explosive energy of solar flares. In The Physics of Solar Flares, first published in 1988, Einar Tandberg-Hanssen and A. Gordon Emslie approach this subject by drawing heavily on experimental data from the Solar Maximum Mission, as well as other ground-based and space-borne instruments. The data are incorporated into many theoretical investigations. The authors put the main emphasis on understanding the underlying physical processes. Starting from the language of physics, the authors guide the reader into the more specialised concepts of solar physics. The book is divided into two main parts: four chapters set the essentials of physics needed to attack the complexities of flare phenomena, and then a further four treat different aspects of the phenomena. This important book is aimed primarily at beginning graduate students who are assumed to have knowledge of basic physics.