This book seeks to provide comprehensive coverage of the processing of cereal grains and grain constituents into an array of food, beverage, fuel, industrial and animal feed applications. Early chapters give introductions to the diversity, comparative biology, history of cultivation and social and economic importance of cereals, but the main body of the work concerns the technologies of storage, processing and production. It is aimed at teaching environments, each chapter concluding with a self-assessment exercise. Otherwise, its main appeal will be for those involved in practical handling and utilization of grain, although the depth of coverage may discourage general readership, while specialists may seek more restricted subject areas.

Another problem, for a single author, is the quality of coverage in areas outside his personal specialities. Here, those areas where the author is able to cite his own references convey his knowledge and enthusiasm, but other sections seem heavily reliant on published sources, with geographic, technical or scientific limitations not always appreciated. While grading of samples is well covered, classification, especially of wheat, receives limited attention, despite the biochemistry and genetics, underlying differences between hard and soft milling, being well understood. Additionally, European maltsters and brewers would take issue with diastatic activity as the most important malt attribute, which only applies when brewing, as in the USA, uses large quantities of starch-based adjuncts. Despite these limitations, however, the book is a significant achievement and, with regard to global deployment of cereals for human and animal nutrition, will prove an extensive and valuable source of information.