This handbook investigates the foundational principles, methodologies, and historical development of artificial intelligence as a formal field of study. Written by Avron Barr and Edward Feigenbaum, this multi-volume work serves as a comprehensive reference for researchers and students. It synthesizes the core concepts of symbolic AI, knowledge representation, and heuristic search, providing a structured framework for understanding the computational logic that defines the discipline.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text that codified the state of artificial intelligence research during its formative decades. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which remains a standard reference for those studying the history and theoretical underpinnings of the field.