Dictionary of Plant Pathology, Second Edition. P. Holliday . 15 × 25 cm, 536 pp. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press [www.cambridge.org], 2001 . £29·95 . ISBN 0521 59458 8 (hardback/paperback) . Paul Holliday’s much-used and widely sold book emerges in a corrected second edition. My review copy is in the paperback format, helping to conserve the valuable stock of the hardback version which retails at the jaw-dropping price of £90. The cost of putting hard covers on a book continues to astound me. This is so obviously a useful book that I was at first puzzled how, or even why, to review it. Pausing for a reverential breath, I did then ponder on the fact that, although I have had a copy of the previous edition on my shelves for many years, truth be told I have rarely used it. So, spurred on by my shiny new paperback edition, I did a little tome-testing, plucking plant pathology items of recent personal interest and seeing what turned up. I started with ‘tristeza’ and found nothing. You need to know that this is ‘citrus tristeza’, whereupon you find a concise account of the disease replete with the condensed and clipped text that is a feature of such dictionaries. No harm in this once you get used to the abbreviations, although I wanted to be told more rather than being referred to other entries. I couldn’t find yellows disease of black pepper until it dawned on me that this appears under ‘yellows’, where all diseases with this epithet are listed. I found Pierce’s grapevine leaf scald straightway, even if I was looking for Pierce’s disease of grapevine. Sumatra disease of clove appeared as Sumatra wilt, and I had to look up Pseudomonas syzygii in order to learn about the disease. Thence to Gliricidia little leaf disease, a spectacular phytoplasma disease in Central America – nothing. The related pigeon pea witches’ broom was there, but still no mention of its gliricidia cousin. Melia yellows was included (a phytoplasma disease of Melia azedarach), but no Casuarina blister bark disease, a significant problem on this widespread species. I hold my hand up and confess to a choice of ostensibly obscure diseases – no examples from cereals or major vegetables, for example. It is indeed cruel to judge utility with esoteric examples. But I have just typed gliricidia little leaf into a common internet search machine, and found three references. The dictionary continues to use ‘MLO’ rather than ‘phytoplasma’, and has (see review above) weak coverage of diseases of eucalyptus. The gentle point I wish to make is not that these are major omissions, or that they detract from the original stunning achievement by Paul Holliday in compiling this dictionary. I greatly admire the dedication and effort he has expended. But I do question whether one person is able to keep up with the rapidly expanding literature, the discovery of new diseases and the rapid changes in names. This is a task for more than one person. The dictionary also reads more like a dictionary of pathogens for pathologists. My disappointment is that there is much in this dictionary of broad interest, but it requires good scientific knowledge and awareness to locate items. The solution is perhaps to look at other efforts to make information on plant diseases and their causes more widely available. Dare I mention the CABI Crop Protection Compendium on CD-ROM [www.cabicompendium.org]? Fungal names can also now be checked online [http://194·131·255·3/cabipages/Names/Names.asp]. The dictionary and the compendium are very different products, although the compendium has an extensive glossary and lists of pathogens and disease names, and quick-search features which perform ‘dictionary’ functions. The compendium is supported by a development and maintenance team which ensures steady improvements, updates and expansion of information. How can one person hope to keep a dictionary up to date? Still, the paperback edition of this dictionary is less expensive, if you can resist the allure of the hard covers. And there is still no substitute for a book resting in the hand. I hope and, indeed, wish that new editions of the dictionary will continue to appear, but for these to maintain their usefulness more investment is needed. Perhaps from greater sales of the hardback edition? The decision is yours. Dictionary of Plant Pathology, Second Edition. P. Holliday . 15 × 25 cm, 536 pp. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press [www.cambridge.org], 2001 . £29·95 . ISBN 0521 59458 8 (hardback/paperback) .