Karpati G. (Vol. Ed.); Molnar M., Goebel H. H., Arahata K., Emery A. E. H., Hoffman E. and Shoubridge, E. (Advis. Eds) Structural and Molecular Basis of Skeletal Muscle Diseases ISN Neuropath Press, Basel, 2002, 311 pages. Price US$85.00. ISBN 3-9522313-0-4 This book is the result of a collaboration between the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Neuromuscular Disease and the International Society of Neuropathology. It is a slim volume of 311 pages, absolutely packed with information. The field of muscle pathology has come a long way in a short time. In addition to clinical diagnostic refinements, molecular genetics has had a profound impact on understanding disease. At a practical level, the pathologist is faced with application and interpretation of many immunochemical techniques and has to integrate these to produce a diagnostic opinion. This book comes to the rescue in a compact format that will see it become a ‘standard’ reference to be used by the microscope. In my own diagnostic service I work with a clinical muscle group and have immediately found this book of benefit at the microscope, replacing a series of review articles that had become essential companions. There are 17 chapters dividing muscle disease according to basic pathogenic features. This is a useful approach and one that is easy to understand. However, a potential drawback is that it distances conditions that have a similar clinical picture from each other and makes using this approach more difficult for differential diagnosis. From this perspective the newcomer to diagnostics may encounter some initial disorientation. The structured and systematic approach in each section includes definitions of entities, details of presentations, molecular genetics, structural changes, immunochemistry, diagnostic interpretation, research directions and therapy. The list of contributors reads like a ‘Who's Who’ for muscle disease and it is a tribute to the skills of the editing team that the book has a very readable and uniform style. Colour illustrations are of high quality and there is good reproduction of relevant ultrastructure. The careful selection of material for display in tables is informative and avoids duplication in the text. All the book content is excellent. I greatly enjoyed the chapter on diseases associated with myonuclear abnormalities incorporating Emery–Dreifuss dystrophy, limb-girdle muscular dystrophy with AV conduction disturbance (LGMD1B) caused by problems with emerin or laminin A/C. The chapter on diseases caused by myofibillar and internal cytoskeletal proteins is also extremely useful and covers familiar topics such as nemaline and desmin myopathy together with the less familiar topics such as plectin deficiency, telethonin deficiency, myotilinopathy and myosin heavy chain depletion disease. Other chapters with titles that reflect a pathogenic approach to disease cover metabolic diseases, inflammatory myopathies and denervating diseases. There is little that is not covered. In recognition of the ‘open-ended’ nature of progress and the fact that books can now go out of date in months, not years, there is a useful chapter on Internet resources. Those reading this review may have gathered that I am very impressed by this book. I am. I am also a great fan of this whole initiative in publishing spearheaded by Paul Kleihues in the initial production of Tumours of the Nervous System. I know other titles are in preparation in this series of ‘Pathology and Genetics’. If future books are as timely, relevant and concise as the first two in the series, they will be assured of success. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in muscle disease, I recommend you get a copy of this book.