ABSTRACT
It is perhaps rather unusual to begin a book with an invitation to the reader to discard the majority of what he or she may have been taught about the subject. In the case of the dynamic behaviour of structures, the invitation is based on the fact that most of what is conventionally written about the subject is dressed up in a mathematical mystique that is not really warranted, and serves only to maintain the subject in the hands of a select few who can handle the sometimes complex mathematics required.
