The third edition of the well-known text comes with the following quote from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry on its front page: “Undoubtedly the best text available in Australia today to undergraduate and postgraduate students.” Students of psychiatry are confronted with an array of textbooks to nourish and supplement their arduous journey along their undergraduate and postgraduate pathways. The book is a handy size, but hefty to carry around, and easy to read even if English might not be the student's first language. Having said that, some students will struggle with the heavy emphasis on text and the lack of illustrations. There is, for instance, only one picture of any type of brain, and there are no color pictures at all. This deficiency and the lack of interaction between text and pictures will, from a pure pedagogical perspective, disadvantage those students who learn by visual association. In effect, it is a textbook about the brain and its function(s), without pictures.

The text is in four parts, is comprehensive and has an impressive list of contributors. Part I is entitled “An approach to clinical practice.” The role that genetics might play in psychiatry is not given a lot of attention, although the slow progress in the field is acknowledged. The possible biological contribution to etiology and diagnosis deserves more than six pages out of 600 but the “Putting it all together – pathways to psychiatric illness” figure compensates for this and would leave the student looking for more in other places. The shoulder to shoulder (ICD vs DSM) explanation of what psychiatry encompasses promises to switch on the light for the undergraduate and is a valuable piece in the text. The chapter on mental state examination, which includes clinical case examples, is not as punchy as the text by Daniel Carlat, which all students should find easy to assimilate.

Part II covers the broad range of psychiatric disorders. It represents the meat and potatoes of most textbooks and the first chapter, “Stress, coping and adjustment disorders,” is rightly referred to as the bridging chapter from the material of Part I to the clinical disorders of Part II. The psychological factors in defense and adaptation are dealt with well, but the biological responses to stress deserve more attention.

The anxiety disorders chapter reads well, informs broadly and will keep the student's attention. Trauma and its effects rightly deserve a chapter and overall the chapter is concise and well written. The mood disorders chapter is comprehensive without losing the primary target of the textbook. The chapter by Clarke et al. on “The mind talking through the body” deals very well with this difficult construct as seen by the various classification systems. The inclusion of a definition of terms (albeit small) is a gem and would clarify for students what could otherwise be a minefield to explore. The concept of “gain,” primary or secondary or with intent or unintentionally, could be highlighted and explained more as it relates to abnormal illness behavior. The eating disorders chapter is well circumscribed and also refers to the management procotol at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Discussion of borderline personality disorder could have been given more space in the chapter on personality disorders and will make the avid reader and potential clinician reach for other sources of information due to its brevity. The substance misuse chapter is good for the whole spectrum of readers. The chapter on neuropsychiatric disorders is my favorite in the book as it is extensive, well presented and worth a second read.

Part III deals with the special clinical areas of child and adolescent psychiatry, intellectual disability, women's health, indigenous mental health, psychiatry of old age, forensic psychiatry, general practice psychiatry, transcultural and refugee psychiatry, as well as suicide and suicidal behavior. Overall, all these topics cover the basics and more. The chapter on child and adolescent psychiatry is concise and came across as a nice read to this adult psychiatrist. The topic of suicide and suicidal behavior is well written by Goldney and Beautrais and will leave the reader with enough information about the subject as well as motivation to prevent this increasing phenomenon.

Part IV covers treatment and presents reviews of specialist mental health care, the biological therapies and psychotherapies. The chapter on specialist mental health care is outstanding in placing treatment contextually. The biological therapies cover principles of drug use to the individual classes and families of medication and is very well explained. The medications described are mostly up to date and the chapter includes applied neuro-anatomy. A broader description of brain stimulation therapies would have rounded off the chapter well. Psychotherapies are well dealt with and the chapter is a good informative read. In comparison with other textbooks, the treatment part of this text book is an excellent three chapters for the student of psychiatry across the clinical fields.

The book is appended with the ICD and DSM classification systems and an easily referenced index.

This third edition from Bloch and Singh is a solid piece of work. It is a useful book and probably one of the best three texts available in Australia on this subject. However, part of any textbook's allure should be the selling factor to the novice, keeping the informed enthralled and making the seasoned come back for more; I am not sure if this text succeeds at all of this. And it is a pity about the lack of pictures and color.