This volume is based on PDE courses given by the authors at the Courant Institute and at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Presented are basic methods for obtaining various a priori estimates for second order equations of elliptic type with particular emphasis on maximal principles, Harnack inequalities, and their applications. The equations considered in the book are linear; however, the presented methods also apply to nonlinear problems.

This second edition has been thoroughly revised and in a new chapter the authors discuss several methods for proving the existence of solutions of primarily the Dirichlet problem for various types of elliptic equations.