At an important interview, a candidate was asked about his experience in teaching medical students. He replied with an enthusiastic and detailed account of his seemingly extensive experience in this field. However, when asked to name one psychiatric textbook suitable for medical students there followed a fumbling and paradoxical silence. When asked the same question, although able to name a small number of such books, embarrassingly I had to admit that as a student I had never possessed any one of them. I subsequently put the question to some of my colleagues and was reassured to find that my own omission was commonly shared.