It is unfair and unreasonable to review volume 11 of theHandbook of Neuropsychology without considering it in the context of the preceding 10 volumes. This magnificent enterprise started in 1988 and has been steered through to its completion by Boller and Grafman: it is truly monumental, consisting of some 3–4000 pages of text and covers virtually every aspect of neuropsychology from adult to childhood disorders, classic syndromes to modern cognitive neuropsychology, imaging to computational networks, movement to consciousness, memory to language, and assessment to treatment. The editors have assembled a star studded cast which is transatlantic, but sadly deficient in contributors from Japan.

The bulk of Volume 11 concerns the complex issue of action and cognition edited by Jeannerod. It combines chapters on anatomy, computational modelling, and neuropsychology. It is up to date and is well referenced. The final two smaller chapters are dedicated to emerging techniques (functional MRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation) and current views on consciousness. This volume lacks perhaps the coherence of some early volumes and seems very expensive, in that a fifth of the book is dedicated to a cumulative subject and author index.

It is a cliché to say that “everyone should buy it”, but I really think that in this instance no self respecting neuropsychological unit or university library should be without the complete handbook. Unfortunately, it is beyond the pocket of most individual people. It is unlikely to be superseded his century, at least, I imagine, by these editors, who deserve a medal for their contribution to neuropsychology.