As someone with a particular interest in antibiotic resistance, it was a joy to review this book. The authoritative text is superbly complemented by high quality diagrams, several of which are in colour. There is also judicious use of tables to provide a high degree of detailed information in a format that is easy on the eye. While the title of the book suggests that the content might be highly specialized, the subject matter covered is in reality quite diverse, including not only the biochemical and genetic basis of enzyme-mediated resistance mechanisms, but also topics such as the biological cost of resistance, and how an understanding of resistance mechanisms is applied in industry for drug development. I would certainly recommend this book to librarians in academic microbiology departments, and while it is not cheap, researchers in the field of antibiotic resistance should certainly give serious consideration to purchasing a personal copy.