This book, in which the term granite is taken in its broadest sense, collates the most innovative contributions that were presented at the EUG 8 Meeting, X12 Symposium, held in Strasbourg during April 1995. It covers a broad range of topics related to the physical aspects of granite magmatism, which are largely under-represented in comparison with chemical-oriented approaches. Nineteen papers span the range from physical properties of granitic material to several pluton case studies. The first part, 'Melt and Magmas: Properties and Segregation', deals mainly with the physical properties and segregation of melts and magmas, including laboratory and field data. The second part, 'Fabrics in Granites', develops some lively aspects of present-day granite geology, such as magmatic fabrics at all scales, and analogue and numerical experiments aimed at modelling magmatic fabrics.
The third part, 'Emplacement of Granite Plutons: Case Studies', begins with a general consideration of syntectonic granites, includes a review of the shape of plutons as inferred from combined fabric and gravity data, and comprises some spectacular examples of plutons emplaced along shear zones, in Spain, Sierra Nevada -California- (see the cover page), Nigeria, and Brazil, or emplaced along subduction zones, in Japan. Granite is the most abundant rock on the continental crust, and this unique text is devoted entirely to the understanding of its origins and emplacement by studying its internal structures. The book is particularly well-illustrated, and almost all the illustrations are original. It will serve as an invaluable reference for geologists, petrologists, geophysicists interested in the development of the continental crust and, more generally, for earth scientists.