This 446-page volume disseminates the results and ideas arising from the 95^th Dahlem Conference, held in January 2005 and titled ‘The Dynamics of Fault Zones’. The week-long workshop brought together 41 scientists with expertise in subjects including geochemistry, geodesy, hydrothermal processes, metamorphic geology, neotectonics, numerical modelling, seismology, solid-earth geophysics, structural geology, surface processes and tectonics. The book comprises 14 original papers that encompass the four themes of the meeting: (1) nucleation and growth of fault systems; (2) rheology of fault rocks and their surroundings; (3) climatic and surficial controls on and of faulting; and (4) fluids, geochemical cycles and mass transport in fault zones. For those like myself who have not attended a Dahlem workshop, selected participants are asked to draft two or three ‘working papers’ on each of the meeting themes. The papers are circulated to participants in the months prior to the meeting and form the starting point for workshop discussions. It is these papers – modified in the light of discussions at the workshop and subsequent peer review – that form the bulk of the volume. In addition, it includes four multi-author ‘group reports’ that summarise the thematic discussions that took place during the meeting. The result is a book that provides a state-of-the-art review of our understanding of faulting at different levels within (and upon the surface of) the lithosphere, based upon observations gathered across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Ultimately, the book raises as many questions as it answers. As such, it will appeal to researchers concerned with tectonic faults themselves, the effects of faulting upon surface and/or crustal processes and/or with mitigating fault-related hazards. I believe that the multi-disciplinary, forward-looking nature of the volume also makes it ideal for use as an advanced-level undergraduate course book. In particular, the wide range of techniques used to study tectonic faults (and which are highlighted by the collection of papers in this volume) should help students to appreciate the value of all their Earth Science subjects. Moreover, the multitude of questions raised by the discussions and captured by the group reports can be used to encourage students to question everything they read, i.e. taking the view that just because it has been peer-reviewed does not mean it is ‘right’! Overall, I recommend this book highly as part of a research or teaching collection, particularly given its very reasonable list price of US$45/x£27.95.