Ingoglia N. A., Murray M. (Eds)Axonal Regeneration in the Central Nervous SystemMarcel Dekker, New York, 2000, 709 pages. Price $225. ISBN 0-82-470410-X Currently, there is much optimism regarding the prospects for imminent development of a rational and effective therapy for spinal cord injury, prompting the question as to whether researchers in this field have always felt that therapeutic breakthroughs are ‘just around the corner’. The Foreword to this book (written by Bernice Grafstein) addresses this question by summarizing the ‘half a century of regeneration research’ since the book ‘Central Nervous System Regeneration’ was published in 1955. The tone is then set for expositions on various approaches to understanding regeneration and summaries of key experiments, thus forming a coherent ‘snapshot’ of the current state of regeneration research. The interesting point is made that some of the findings now regarded as central to our understanding of the organization and response to injury of the CNS were not initially regarded with much enthusiasm. For effective regeneration several processes must occur appropriately, these include: removal of degeneration products, axonal regeneration, target finding, and, finally, restitution of previously existing circuitry. Each of these components is dealt with in different sections of the book. The book is divided into four major parts, dealing primarily with regeneration in different physiological circumstances and the various manipulations of the environment and neurones that are required for regeneration. The regenerative response in the lower vertebrate visual system and during mammalian development are discussed, although the bulk of the text deals with spontaneous responses to axotomy of adult mammalian neurones and strategies designed to alter axonal growth. At many stages there is repetition of the importance of the balance between the intrinsic regenerative capabilities of the neurone and the axonal environment, however this repetition is to be expected for such a fundamental concept. Each chapter is written from a different standpoint, this allows each author to stress particular aspects of their work that they feel is important, consequently this aids the reader in understanding new directions that each field may take. For instance the importance of rapid axonal sealing is stated in many chapters throughout the book in different contexts. Manipulation of the growth responses and the differences between axonal sprouting and regenerative growth have been highlighted in many recent studies, hence the difference between these modes of growth forms the focus of some of the later chapters. Illustrating the breadth of scope of this book are the chapters towards the end that discuss what will be required for clinical trials on regeneration therapies, and, in one instance (Reier et al.) even describe some preliminary results of clinical treatment. In all, although it is difficult for a volume of this type to remain completely up to date for very long, this book can be recommended highly as a means of keeping abreast of the progress made so far in this important and fascinating subject. Coverage of the information across so wide a sphere means that a very large amount of information on the multifaceted world of axonal regeneration has been distilled into an easily digestible form. A minor gripe would be the poor reproduction of some illustrations, in particular the absence of colour in the axonal sealing figures. In answer to the question implicitly posed in the Foreword there appears truly to have been substantial progress towards the development of rational therapy for CNS injury, although clearly many of the details will require much further work. However, a point made in several chapters is that since there are so many obstacles to effective axonal regeneration in the mammalian CNS there might be some evolutionary reason to suppose that it is inappropriate in free-living individuals – perhaps a reason that is not currently appreciated. It is interesting to speculate on how the book's content will be viewed in a further 50 years.