The authors, with special interest in quality aspects of olives and food safety respectively, see opportunity for an Australian table olive production and processing industry, for a retail market currently valued at $A40m per annum. Over the last ten years numerous small and medium scale production and processing enterprises have been established in suitable agro-ecological zones in all six Australian states. This book is written as a manual, the six chapters covering the global and Australian history of table olive production, processing and consumption, the olive tree, production of raw olives in the Australian context, general and then specific aspects of table olive processing and finally quality and safety. The chapters are divided into indexed sections, and there is a good overall index, making it easy to find specific information. Thirty-two colour plates and 98 black and white figures usefully supplement the text. However, few of some 375 citations are referenced in the text, limiting their utility. The authors are most convincing when writing on their specialist subjects, less so with some of the agricultural detail and the science that lies behind it. Early in the manual the authors observe that high harvesting costs are a barrier to the development of the industry, together with lack of production expertise and perhaps processing knowledge. Harvesting is an example of how the manual would have benefited from applying lessons learned from domesticating the only Australian native crop, the macadamia, and from adapting other tree crops such as citrus, coffee and tea, all with high harvesting costs. Despite the quibbles, the manual is an excellent reference book for anyone who wants to know more about developing the crop in Australia, or indeed similar situations.