Enter the world of Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology. The book opens with a quotation, probably seldom surpassed in a discipline rarely afforded great literary expression, that epidemiology ‘... is like a cocktail blended from equal parts of science, art, and craft, laced with liberal applications of intellectual rigour and scepticism’. From this opening, one is confident of an enjoyable, critical introduction to the ‘young’ discipline of psychiatric epidemiology.

This text is primarily intended for students of epidemiology with an interest in psychiatry. Epidemiological concepts and techniques are introduced and discussed with exceptional clarity, and there is good application to psychiatric research throughout. Each well-referenced chapter closes with a series of practical exercises that serve to reinforce the concepts previously introduced. For these reasons the book will appeal to anyone involved in the lecturing and teaching of (psychiatric) epidemiology. It should also be considered essential for more experienced clinicians in psychiatry or psychology who require a grounding in epidemiology.

The book consists of 21 chapters from leading contributors in psychiatric epidemiology, arranged into four distinct sections: basic principles, study design, interpretation, and special issues. Each section, indeed each chapter, provides an excellent stand-alone introduction to an important epidemiological theme, be it case–control studies, multi-level modelling or the emerging role of genetic epidemiology within psychiatry. What really makes this text stand out, however, is the skill of the editors in integrating a diverse range of themes, both succinctly and comprehensively.

The first section, ‘Basic principles’, introduces the historical development of psychiatric epidemiology, which provides a useful contextual perspective and relates older issues, such as Durkheim's (Reference Durkheim, Spaulding and Simpson1951) ideas on suicide with more recent concepts, such as social capital (Reference PutnamPutnam, 1996). Good introductions to measurement and ethics in psychiatry are included as well as an informative chapter giving a balanced critique of the applicability of psychiatric paradigms across different cultures.

The heart of this book lies in the two sections introducing epidemiological methodology and analysis, ‘Study design’ and ‘Interpretation’. Each major epidemiological study design is introduced, and balanced arguments on the advantages and disadvantages are outlined. Informative examples from psychiatric epidemiology are included. The section on interpretation discusses the epidemiological mantra – chance, bias, confounding – in detail, but it is the inclusion of chapters on causality and further statistical methods that will appeal most to people with a prior background in epidemiology.

The book closes by addressing emerging issues in psychiatric epidemiology, including the role of genetic studies, qualitative data and health economics, finishing with the editors’ excellent appraisal of future challenges faced by the discipline.

For those who already have a qualification in epidemiology much of the content will be familiar, although as a stand-alone quick reference it remains useful. For those, however, with an interest in psychiatric research – from the new epidemiological researcher to the experienced clinical psychiatrist – this publication will be an invaluable companion for undertaking research in psychiatric epidemiology.