This book is a comprehensive text describing the key principles of medical virology and I'm certain that this edition, like its previous ones, will be of great reference value to all those in the field. These will include students, research scientists, diagnostic biomedical scientists, epidemiologists and clinicians. Having said that, the book is written very much from the perspective of the virus, rather than the diseases associated with them and as such, might be more suited to scientists than clinicians.

Most of the chapters focus on each virus causing human disease, giving a detailed description of viral biology, replication, epidemiology, pathology and diagnosis as well as management, prevention and treatment. The initial chapter, describing diagnostic approaches, is somewhat disappointing in its degree of detail, however. Furthermore, it is essentially theoretical. I believe that the inclusion of some basic protocols, together with some examples of cytopathic effects of viruses in cell culture, ELISA plates and immunocytochemistry slides, for example, would have been helpful. Moreover, it would have been valuable to have included details of methodologies to differentiate between viruses and, indeed, other micro-organisms, that are associated with the development of similar symptoms.

In my opinion, the book would also benefit from the inclusion of a chapter focussing on viral pathogenesis, and describing how different viruses cause similar syndromes, such as hepatitis, respiratory disease, rashes or tumours, for example. In addition, a chapter on viral zoonoses could have been included. The chapter discussing emerging infections is very welcome, however, with influenza being very much in the news, perhaps the authors could have taken the opportunity to include 're-emerging' infections in this context. Considering the inclusion of a chapter on vaccinology, the absence of a chapter dedicated to antiviral approaches was disappointing and a surprise. The vaccinology chapter is inadequate in terms of its description of the immune system and types of vaccines available.

In terms of presentation, I understand that the inclusion of colour figures significantly increases costs; however, I think that this book is greatly let down by the absence of colour figures. Furthermore, a few of the figures are printed far too small. A picture may 'tell a thousand words', but only if it's a good one! In my opinion, unless a figure is clear, it's probably best left out! There is a wealth of useful information in this book. Despite this, however, the book is still a surprisingly manageable size. I would recommend it as a reference manual to all those interested in human viral disease. Since its price tag is likely to restrict its purchase to institutions, I predict that there will be fierce competition to consult it!