The field of abnormal psychology is well served by several competent textbooks-so much so that in my first years of teaching in the area, I was not immediately aware of the need for an innovative approach. Indeed, this impetus was initially provided by feedback from my students who expressed their frustration with the lack of local content in the available American texts which tended to distance them from, rather than more fully engage them with, the material. Having thus been encouraged to take a closer look at the range of available texts, I became aware of the additional need to have specialists presenting the current body of knowledge regarding their respective areas of expertise if students are to be provided with material that most accurately reflects contemporary theorising and research.

Both of these innovative aspects of the book-that is, the local content and reliance on specialist authors-require some elaboration. The local content is most obviously reflected in the selection of authors from Australia and New Zealand; the inclusion of research from this region when such studies constitute the best exemplars in the field; the presentation of topics of regional relevance (such as a relatively extensive section on pathological gambling given the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling in Australia and New Zealand); and the application of concepts using regional examples, most notably in the "Australian Focus" pieces that introduce each chapter. While these "Australian Focus" sections refer predominantly to Australian people and governmental policies, this material was selected so as to be highly recognisable and pertinent in the New Zealand context as well. Clearly, abnormal psychology is an international discipline, the knowledge base of which is informed by theoretical and empirical work worldwide. Yet, by presenting this information in a manner that is also sensitive to the reader’s cultural context, this text aims to generate maximal relevance and hence interest and engagement on the part of the reader.

Aside from its Australian and New Zealand content, this book is noteworthy for the high calibre of its authors. The chapters have been written by eminent researchers who continue to make a significant contribution to understanding the disorders in which they have expertise. As such, they are ideally placed to impart to the reader highly contemporary perspectives of the various disorders. While it is common practice for undergraduate students to be availed only of textbooks written by generalists, the use of specialist authors is intended to present readers with the most current scholarship upon their earliest engagement with the subject matter of abnormal psychology. In addition to the emphasis on currency, the authors were provided with a template regarding the topics to be presented within each chapter so as to ensure comprehensive and consistent coverage. This template included a call to the authors to address areas of ongoing debate and uncertainty within their respective fields so that the reader is not only familiarised with the current state of the field, but is also encouraged to ponder future developments. Thus, while the book received its initial inspiration from students, the state-of-the-art approach aims, in turn, to inspire the next generation of leading researchers and clinicians by informing them from the outset of their learning of the limits of what is currently known and what remains to be explicated in the field of abnormal psychology.

Elizabeth Rieger, January 2008