The title of this book is misleading with respect to its use for the field of stone conservation. The book contains a collection of essays on the formation of inorganic glasses through the sol-gel process. These glasses are of great interest to those interested in stone consolidation. Kinetics and mechanisms of the various systems (including tetraethoxy-and tetramethoxysilane) are examined by a host of analytical techniques (IR, NMR, Raman, etc.). -- AATA