Instilling good prescribing habits in young doctors is essential for thebenefit of patients and to preserve the value of the antibiotic revolution thataltered medical practice in the second half of the twentieth century. Theseconcerns underlie the approach taken in the new edition of this successful book.The text provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the principles ofantimicrobial chemotherapy as an aid to informed, rational prescribing. Care istaken to address all aspects of antimicrobial drug use, including those specificto developed and developing countries of the world. The authors areinternational experts with a long standing interest in the role of education asa means of promoting an understanding of the benefits and limitations ofantimicrobial chemotherapy in physicians, surgeons and other health careworkers. The book offers a structured approach to the subject in four themedsections, each of several chapters. A historical introduction is followed by asection outlining the basic properties of antibacterial, antifungal,antiparasitic and antiviral (including antiretroviral) drugs. The next sectionexplains the various facets of antimicrobial drug resistance - which threatensto undermine the continued efficacy of antimicrobial agents - and effective waysof countering the threat. Therapeutic use is covered in two sections: oneintroduces readers to the general principles that inform the rationalprescribing of antimicrobial drugs; the second deals with practicalities of theuse of antimicrobial agents in specific clinical conditions. The book ends witha description of the ways in which drugs are developed and marketed. There areextensive recommendations for further reading.