The document outlines the key topics covered in a book on distributed database management systems (DDBMS). It begins with an introduction to distributed databases and DDBMS architectures. Some of the major topics covered in the book include distributed database design, query processing, transaction management, data replication, and parallel databases. The document also discusses challenges of distributed systems like transparency, reliability, performance, and system expansion. It explains concepts like data independence, network transparency, and how distributed transactions provide failure atomicity and concurrency control.