This document provides an overview and preface for the book "CAN System Engineering: From Theory to Practical Applications". It discusses the origins and growth of Controller Area Network (CAN) technology. CAN was originally developed by Bosch in the 1980s for use in automotive applications. It has since been widely adopted for applications in many industries. The book contains technical details on CAN contributed by various specialists. It covers topics such as physical layer, data link layer, higher level protocols, applications, and testing of CAN systems.