The book has changed in many ways. First, the editorial team
has been altered. Professor Ed Dodson has stood down as third
editor because of the onerous nature of his administrative duties
in his role as Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean for
Admissions at Washington University School of Medicine, and
both readers and editors will miss his valuable insights and contributions
so evident in the previous edition. In his place, it is a
pleasure to welcome Jerome (Pete) Engel Jr, who is, of course, one
of the outstanding epileptologists of our times, an enormously
experienced editor and a worthy successor. Pete brings a great
deal of wisdom and expertise to this edition, for which the other
editors are enormously grateful. The number of chapters has also
increased, from 63 in the fi rst edition, to 74 in the second and to
85 in this edition. There are 26 completely new chapters, as well
as extensive updating of the others. Also welcomed to the team
are 90 new authors, joining the 53 who contributed to both this
and the previous edition. The new chapters refl ect the signifi cant
changes which have been made to the principles of, and approaches
to, epilepsy therapy, the introduction of new drugs and the development
of new surgical techniques. These changes give the book
a new freshness of approach, which it is hoped will fi nd favour
with our readers.