Edited by FP Rivara, P Cummings, TD Koepsell, DC Grossman, and RV Maier. (Pp 304; £65 hardback.) Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-521-661528.

Fred Rivara, the principal editor of this book, ends the introductory chapter by noting that injury, at the beginning of the 21st century, continues to cause enormous death and disability worldwide. Although some progress in controlling the toll of injury has been made in the last 50 years, Rivara observes that “further reduction in injury will depend on increasingly more sophisticated research. It is our hope that this volume will help to stimulate such efforts”. I certainly agree with his assessment.

To that end, 30 well known injury researchers collaborated on 20 chapters that cover a wide range of issues related …