Considering the recent devastating outbreaks of FMD in Europe, the Editors preface this book with an opening statement that A book on foot-and-mouth disease, no matter how flooded the literature with review articles, requires no justification. Given the large number of recent reviews on FMD, I was inclined to question this assertion, and any addition does need to be of a very high quality. There is some duplication between chapters within this book, as well as gaps, for instance regarding the latest position on the genetic subdivision of FMD viruses. Nevertheless, this text does provide an authoritative and compelling overview of FMD with a greater breadth and depth than any so far. I would highly recommend it for anybody with a specific interest in the biology and/or control of FMD or as an institute purchase for virology departments.