Over the last 30 years, the study of fluvial sedimentology has benefited from a series of special publications – collections of papers which have become essential reference volumes for the subject area. This new collection of 18 papers on a variety of aspects of braided rivers is a welcome and valuable addition to these volumes which will be used by fluvial geomorphologists and sedimentologists for years to come. In particular, the paper by Bridge & Lunt, ‘Depositional models of braided rivers’, is destined to become one of those papers that is quoted every time the sedimentary record of braided rivers is mentioned. The authors present a clear synthesis of the depositional models for braided rivers, incorporating plan views, cross-sections and sedimentary logs that other authors can use to benchmark their own interpretations of fluvial deposits.

This is the second special publication on the subject, the first being Braided Rivers, edited by Best & Bristow and published in 1993, and this new compilation reveals some important changes in the nature of the research in the subject. For example, case studies of fluvial successions from the stratigraphic record formed an important part of the literature a decade or more ago, but do not feature at all in this new volume. Instead, there is a somewhat greater focus on understanding and quantifying processes. Several of the papers in this volume take a computational approach to the analysis of braided river form and hydrology, including the development of numerical models for the formation of channel patterns and depositional features. Other papers are based on experimental work carried out in flume tanks and provide insight into processes of bedload transport at different scales.

The economic applications to the study of braided river form and sedimentology are considered by Kelly, who reviews issues of scaling and hierarchy and their implications for oil and gas reservoir modelling. Other authors tackle the environmental impact of fluvial hydrology, both as a consequence of natural events such as earthquakes and the human effects of channel and water management. An interesting and informative departure from the scope of most collections of sedimentology papers is the inclusion of two papers on the ecology of braided rivers. One of these by Tockner et al. is an account of the relationship between river hydrology, geomorphology and the ecosystems in and around them. To the sedimentary geologist, this provides an insight into the ichnofauna associated with braided river deposits and hence a further tool for the reconstruction of ancient fluvial environments.

This is the first in the excellent series of volumes published by the International Association of Sedimentologists to adopt a larger format and the inclusion of colour photographs and diagrams throughout the text. The new format and colour have not been exploited to their full potential by many of the papers, but the production values are of a very high standard, making this an attractive and accessible volume.