The Advances in Chemical Physics series provides the chemical physics field with a forum for critical, authoritative evaluations of advances in every area of the discipline. This special, guest-edited volume focuses on the kinetics and thermodynamics of multistep nucleation and self-assembly in nanoscale materials. Chapters included discuss: * Kinetics and thermodynamics of fluctuation-induced transitions in multistable systems * Dynamical rare event simulation techniques for equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems * Confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering * The two-step mechanism and the solution-crystal spinodal for nucleation of crystals in solution * Experimental studies of two-step nucleation during two-dimensional crystallization of colloidal particles with short-range attraction * On the role of metastable intermediate states in the homogeneous nucleation of solids from solution * Effects of protein size on the high-concentration/low-concentration phase transition * Geometric constraints in the self-assembly of mineral dendrites and platelets * What can mesoscopic level in situ observations teach us about kinetics and thermodynamics of protein crystallization * The ability of silica to induce biomimetic crystallization of calcium carbonate