The first edition of this book was designed to provide support to students and tutors at every stage of a practical class. Capitalizing on the well-deserved success of its predecessor, the second edition focuses on a broad range of biological techniques, from microbiology to ecology. It provides concise and user-friendly information to guide students through the basic to the more advanced practical approach. As students are increasingly from diverse academic backgrounds, this is an excellent book to help them refresh or acquire core practical skills. The new sections on project planning and IT will help students to tackle experimental problems with confidence and improve their performance. I recommend this book to fellow academics, it is an excellent compendium to supplement classroom teaching. I also encourage biology students to take a look at this book; it covers a range of skills that would benefit them throughout their undergraduate studies and beyond.