This wonderful, heavyweight volume draws together a cast of eminent contributors who review and provide expert commentary on the latest developments in bereavement research. It is the third handbook edited by Margaret Stroebe and colleagues, the first having been published in 1993. It should not, however, be seen as an updated edition, as it is a new work and like its predecessors provides a masterly state-of-the-art overview.

One of the most impressive features of this book is the way it sweeps across the field of bereavement. The editorial stance conveys respect for a spectrum of knowledge, from evolutionary and biological analyses through to social constructionist and sociological perspectives. This open-minded attitude must surely have played a part in enabling the editors to gain contributions from virtually all the leading thinkers and researchers in the field. It covers topics that are relevant across the lifespan, considers differing family, societal, religious and cultural contexts, and pays attention not only to the current state of the field but also to implications and applications.

A number of chapters challenge and push the boundaries such as those by Archer, Fisher and Luecken that focus on findings from functional magnetic imaging and animal studies, in a discipline that is currently dominated by ‘softer’ ideas. The two chapters that pose arguments for and against the inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are explicitly controversial, with Prigerson and colleagues working hard to convince us that the time is ripe, whereas Rubin and colleagues argue for greater caution. Chapters that highlight growth and resilience (Davis' on post-traumatic growth; Sandler et al's on theory-based interventions for children who have lost a parent) in an area that is more used to considering the devastating consequences of grief, might also been seen as disturbing usual understandings.

As with many edited volumes, the chapters vary in style, and it is a joy to see the different ways that topics are approached and to hear the voices of the authors' commentaries. Some, such as Parkes in his excellent chapter on bereavement following disaster, and Doka on disenfranchised grief, draw on huge personal experience, centring on their own research and lessons learnt. Others, such as Field writing on continuing bonds and Schulz et al writing on caregiving and bereavement, provide evaluative, systematic reviews of research publications. It is perhaps trite to say, but it seems unfair to mention these yet not other contributors, as so many deserve mention.

The book is unashamedly and, one could say unfashionably, focused on a scientific approach that propounds the need for sound research while also paying attention to the need for research to influence practice. In this regard, part VI on the development and efficacy of interventions is particularly welcome. This provides an impressive account of painstaking work, including impressive longitudinal studies, to develop theoretically driven and empirically tested interventions.

This volume cannot be used as a manual for clinical work but it definitely can and should be used to inform our thinking about how to understand and work with those at risk or struggling with bereavement-related distress.