McKeever gives us a comprehensive survey of thermoluminescence, an important, versatile, and widely-used experimental technique. Bringing together previously isolated specialized approaches, he stresses the importance of the solid state aspects of the phenomenon and links these to applications in dating, dosimetry, and geology. The book contains chapters on analysis and special properties, on instrumentation, and on the variety of defect reaction--using the alkali halides and SiO2 as examples--that can take place within a material to yield thermoluminescence. Three chapters concerning applications discuss the features of the solid state reactions to explain some of the properties observed in practice.