Dr.-Ing. Karl-Eugen Kurrer has been chief editor of the journal "Stahlbau", published by Ernst & Sohn, Berlin, since 1996. His keen interest in the history of theory of structures from the scientific and engineering perspectives began some 30 years ago. The great success of his book "Geschichte der Baustatik" published at the end of 2002, the repeated requests for an English edition and the members of the Berlin-based VDI History of Engineering Study Group inspired him to write this revised edition.