In the past 40 years the number of major global disasters which have inflicted extensive human suffering has increased threefold, an increase which highlights the need within the burgeoning literature on major trauma for quality texts in the field of disaster psychiatry. Professor Ursano and his editorial colleagues, each with a distinguished pedigree in the trauma field, have produced a well-written and well-presented contemporary textbook, which should appeal to clinical practitioners (and their students), researchers and policy makers.

The book is proclaimed to be the first dedicated to disaster psychiatry. However, if we accept that psychiatry is the study and treatment of mental illness and emotional disturbance (Oxford English Dictionary, 2005), then the title belies the breadth of the book's coverage. It comprises five sections including foundations of disaster psychiatry, clinical care and interventions, and public health and psychiatry. Incorporated within these sections are chapters covering the predictable gamut of topics, such as the epidemiology of post-traumatic conditions, traumatic death, acute stress and post-traumatic stress disorders, children and disasters, and early interventions. However, an attractive feature of the book is its inclusion of less familiar, but equally important topics, such as disaster ecology, public health and disaster mental health, non-governmental organisations and mental health professionals, and the assessment and management of medical and surgical disaster casualties.

Perhaps, since only three of the authors come from outside of the USA, there is a leaning towards the North American literature and trauma. Reference has not been made to valuable European references such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. There is, however, an abundance of well-selected references. These have guaranteed the editors' aims of producing a text which is largely evidence-based. Inevitably, and appropriately, in view of the distinguished panel of 23 authors, some assertions and observations are more ‘eminence-based’.

No textbook can be expected to be of manageable proportions and yet be exhaustive in its coverage. Thus, for certain topics, such as the ethics of disaster work, research issues in the disaster field and the role of the media before, during and after a major catastrophe, the reader will need to consult other texts.

In conclusion, by virtue of its comprehensive content, lucid and attractive style of presentation, and its contemporary evidence base, the Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry represents an excellent purchase for a wide range of interested professionals.