This is the first part of a two volume edition, and is subtitled ‘Nematode Morphology, Physiology and Ecology’. The book comprises 12 chapters (636 pages), some multi-authored, and includes possibly the last written work of the eminent Alan Bird who died in 1999, and in whose memory this volume is dedicated. The subjects of these chapters comprise a history of nematology in the 20th Century (K. R. Barker, pp. 51), speculation on what the next century holds in store (J. M. Webster, pp. 19 and very much biased towards plant parasitic species), developmental biology as exemplified by Caenorhabditis elegans (M.-A. Felix, the longest chapter at 104 pages, but thorough and informative), morphology and sensory structures (J. G. Baldwin and R. N. Perry, the second longest chapter at 83 pages, but well-written with wide coverage and particularly clear explanations of topics), oesophageal glands and plant parasitism (R. S. Hussey and E. L. Davis, pp. 37), adhesion to the nematode surface (A. F. Bird, pp. 35), behaviour and migration (A. Forest Robinson pp. 76), ecology (G. W. Yates and B. Boag, pp. 32), marine biodiversity (P. J. D. Lambstead, pp. 31), population dynamics (R. McSoreloy and L. W. Duncan, pp. 24), biodiversity and co-speciation in marine nematodes (R. M. Giblin-Davis, K. A. Davies, G. S. Taylor and W. K. Thomas, pp. 48), and cultivation (P. de Ley and M. Mundo-Ocampo, pp. 80). The Editors (Z. Chen, S. Chen and D. W. Dickson) express their satisfaction with the many renowned nematologists who collaborated to produce this ‘quality book’.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well the various contributions combined together. Multi-contributor volumes are notoriously difficult to edit, especially in terms of refining the contributions to a similar format, since strong-willed academics are often reluctant to conform. Editors have aged prematurely and/or sworn never to undertake a similar task again. But these editors can be congratulated. I did not find any incongruity in style and structure that grated with me. Each chapter is well structured, with at least a four-tier level of subdivision that is emphasized by different font sizes. The prose is good, generally clear, easy to follow and informative. The sections are well referenced and point the way to major reviews of related topics. This is not a text book. Some basic information is provided, but the emphasis is very much on current research in the context of earlier studies. And I was pleased to find that history had not been forgotten. In this day and age, it is so easy just to download the most recent publications from computer databases. Often the pioneering studies that laid the foundations for a discipline in earlier years, even relatively recent major contributions in the 1950–70s, are forgotten or neglected because effort is required to trace them physically in volumes published before the electronic age. Pleasingly, technical terms are explained, so the volume will have a role in undergraduate teaching.

And now to some reservations. In an age when we are being encouraged to be interdisciplinary in our research by bridging research initiatives from funding councils, it is surely time that barriers within disciplines were also demolished once and for all. I felt that several of the chapters in this volume could have adopted a wider remit, and included animal parasitic nematodes. I understand that brevity and volume space were considerations, but even so why emphasize the division? In the chapter on oesophageal glands of nematodes, to devote just 14 lines to secretions of animal-parasitic nematodes, out of a total length of 36 pages is a significant omission. So much has been done on the secretions of animal parasitic nematodes. We know that they contain interesting enzymes, immunomodulatory factors and a range of interesting molecules that are being researched as potential medicines for the future and also as vaccine candidates.

Some contributors did make a valiant effort to bring in the animal parasitic nematodes (e.g. Chapters 4 and 7) and some chapters concerned topics that were only relevant for plant parasitic/free-living species. However, I did feel that, for example, a chapter entitled ‘Cultivation of Nematodes’ could have included something on animal-parasitic species. With respect to the latter, this is one of the great neglected aspects of the subject. I am unaware of any animal-parasitic nematode that can be maintained in long-term culture, and you would have thought that with Home Office Inspectors and ethics committees (and the continual pressure to reduce, refine and replace use of animals in research) breathing down our necks, a renewed effort in this direction would have been higher on the agenda. Or to compile a subsection (2.7) on ‘Human Health’, in a chapter predicting major advances in the current century, without mention of vaccines for human and livestock nematodes, novel anthelmintics, immunological and PCR based diagnoses, genetics of resistance including development of resistant breeds of livestock, new medicines based on nematode molecules, only emphasized the one-sided nature of some of the contributions in this volume.

I understand that in any historical account of a subject and any attempt to identify the milestones, many events are likely to be omitted. But Table 1.1 surely could have listed the fact that Trichinella spiralis was the first ever pathogen to be unequivocally identified as a disease-causing entity. Jenner's work came earlier but he did not actually know what he was dealing with. Viruses were described much later in the 20th Century. Pasteur worked later in the 19th Century, but Leuckart, Virchov and Zenker (1850–60s) both saw the organism and showed that it caused disease. Manson's conclusion that mosquitoes were intermediate hosts of Wuchereria bancrofti was the first ever demonstration that insects could transmit disease to humans, and this discovery paved the way for subsequent studies revealing the role of mosquitoes in the transmission of malaria and tsetse flies in trypanosomiasis.

Finally, I have to say that, despite the niggles (and I can add to the above, miniscule font size on some illustrations, and at least one factual error that I spotted), this volume was well worth the effort. I will certainly refer to it more the once in the years ahead. I am sure that you also will find much of interest and relevance.