Foreword The complexity of a modern internal combustion engine is certainly one of the reasons why one person is no longer able to comprehensively present all the important interplays in their full depth. Perhaps it is also one of the reasons why there has been no complete work on this subject to date. Although a large number of technical books deal with certain aspects of the internal combustion engine@ there has been no publication until now that covers all of the major aspects of the topic. The more than 100-year development of the internal combustion engine has resulted in an enormous amount of important information and detailed knowledge on the different demands@ the large number of components@ and their interaction. With a volume of almost 950 pages@ more than 1250 illustrations@ and nearly 700 bibliographical references@ we believe that with this book we have now succeeded in covering all the main technical aspects of the internal combustion engine. It was@ therefore@ a particular endeavor of the publishers to place emphasis in all the right places and thus to present a work that closes a significant gap in the technical literature. Of particular note is the fact that this book was produced in just eighteen months and@ therefore@ effectively reflects the current high status of the present-day technical development.