The book provides a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the statistical mechanics of avalanche phenomena emerging in driven systems. A theoretical analysis of the problem is followed by a detailed description of experiments and natural phenomena displaying avalanches. The book is of interes[...]

The availability of large data sets has allowed researchers to uncover complex properties such as large-scale fluctuations and heterogeneities in many networks, leading to the breakdown of standard theoretical frameworks and models. Until recently these systems were considered as haphazard sets of p[...]