The translation of this book has an unusual and interesting history. It began in the winter of 2016 when I received a call from HuseyinInan asking me if I would be willing to translate into English his late father Mustafa Inan's monumental work "CisimlerinMukavemeti" which translates as "Strength of Materials." It appeared in published form well after my student years he was my professor− and just a few months prior to his untimely death.
An intellectual giant a gifted mathematician and scientist he was well versed in both "the logic of Einstein as well as the intuitive wisdom of Sufi mysticism." So the call apparently inspired by the recommendations of a few colleagues of mine was truly an honor and I did not hesitate to accept the challenge.
For the next six months I was engaged in an arduous task which to my great surprise turned into a work of discovery: The discovery of the many remarkable features of this major work. Anyone more or less familiar with the subject of strength of materials will immediately relate to the contributions of S. Timoshenko. In fact Professor Inan was the very person who authored the Turkish translations of Timoshenko's two volumes "Strength of Materials" as well as his volume on Plates and Shells. But Inan's "Magnum Opus" is chock-full of fundamental novelties. For doctoral students especially the coverage of advanced material dealing with the concept of shear center the various methods suggested for the approximate solution of various properties such as the deflection curves the energy methods and last but not least the two elaborate and detailed final chapters on
elasto-kinetics and on elastic stability are unique in their in-depth presentation of the material as well as in pointing to future directions of research. Most significantly this book so uniquely detailed retains a remarkable freshness while covering topics some of which are as old as the time of R. Hooke.
I am indeed honored to have my name associated with my esteemed professor's magisterial work.
Sedat Sami Professor Emeritus
Carbondale Illinois USA