This volume contains three chapters written by distinguished scientists from Europe, South America, and Asia. When it comes to the chemistry and physics of carbon, as reflected by the authorship in this series since its inception 40 years ago, globalization (a popular term among today’s politicians and economists) has always been the rule rather than the exception or a recent trend. If anything, The New York Times editorial of May 7, 2004 is indeed correct in its conclusion that “the United States . . . is losing ground to foreign competitors [as the pre-eminent scientific and technological power in the world].” I hope that this will be a.
