I hesitate to submit this review, now knowing how any such text might be judged. I have already used a passive verb in my first sentence! Are my sentences so long as to fail the Gunning-Fog test? Could one be a ‘reverse hamburger’? Are the first six words sufficiently punchy? It is salutary to revisit one's recent publications and subject them to the scrutiny of the lessons learnt from this book.

This paperback is a very readable, entertaining and extremely helpful guide to getting that study done and the paper then published. The subtitle ‘How to Write a Scientific Paper without Neglecting your Patients’ says it all. Drawing on his experience as an instructor on courses delivered over 500 times, the author tackles the barriers all would-be authors face. The spidergram 2 will turn any chaos into a structured project. The Meaning of Life, the Universe, etc, proves to be 2,7,7,6 and not 42. There is practical advice in surviving writer's block, demands for revision and ultimate rejection.

A truly inspiring book, this passed a very pleasant two hours on the London train. Now to re-read it all and try to apply the lessons learned.

Publish or perish we are told; this guide does still assume that there is that enthusiasm to appear in print and, even more, that there is actually some scientific message to report. All seniors know those heart-sink words from the newly arrived trainee, ‘Do you have a project for me to complete in time for the promotion interviews, in two weeks’ time?’ Learning the lessons of this book could well endear us all to the long-suffering editors of scientific journals.