This is another excellent volume in the Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Series from Thieme. It is written by a list of esteemed specialists from around the world. In the foreword, Professor David Howard, President of the British Laryngological Association, describes this book as a ‘review of the most up-to-date aspects of laryngology’.

Reading through the eight sections of this hardback text, it is clear that this is indeed the case. Starting with a wonderfully detailed historical opening section, the book then goes on to describe basic aspects of anatomy, clinical assessment and principles of treatments, including principles of speech and language therapy, and quite detailed descriptions of objective laryngeal assessments such as laryngeal electromyography.

A full and systematic approach to a variety of different and, in many cases, difficult conditions then follows in section five. Most chapters include highlighted boxes containing ‘pearls’ of wisdom, key clinical insights and the occasional case history. The text is complemented by graphs, line diagrams and clinical photos, but, while this is not an ‘atlas’ of laryngology, some of the pictures are of only mediocre quality.

Later sections are dedicated to aspects of laryngology in paediatrics and in trauma settings. I found the section on the professional voice of practical benefit, with some case histories.

The final section on new frontiers, of course, discusses laryngeal transplantation and the huge amount of work going into this field of research. Other future developments such as robotic surgery and nanotechnology are mentioned in the closing chapter.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I learnt from it and as such I would recommend it for those with a practice that includes laryngology or voice patients.