A clearly written tutorial introduction to expert systems. The early chapters, with sections on first-order logic, search, rule-based reasoning, and knowledge representation, lay the foundations for the fairly detailed case studies of expert systems (including MYCIN, PROSPECTOR, and R1) occupying the main body of the book.
Despite the very general title, the principal focus and organizing theme of the book is production systems. Topics covered include search strategies for production systems, AND/OR graphs, forward vs. backward deduction, and plan generation. The book will be of particular interest to readers wanting to know more about formal methods in artificial intelligence.
A very readable, fairly recent, collection of papers on expert systems, containing some good general references.