Many regard A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests as an essential reference text. Principally valued for its test reviews, normative data, administration instructions, and commentary, its reviews of cognitive domains have also provided a useful overview of the field of neuropsychology. Published eight years after the second edition, one might expect the Third Edition to feature revised entries for updated tests, new entries for recently published tests, pruning of tests that are no longer in general use, and other minor revisions where appropriate. In fact, the new edition of the Compendium delivers dramatically more. As stated in the preface, the goal for this edition was to create a user-friendly reference work that covered all the relevant details of the most frequently used neuropsychological tests, and to provide a general overview of issues “germane to neuropsychological assessment.” In short: To help you “know your tools” and to function as a guidebook to the practice of neuropsychology. These goals are surely met—beyond all expectations.

Compared to its predecessor, the third edition is a complete reworking of the text, and it has grown in almost every conceivable way. It is longer (1,216 compared to 736 pages), the page format is larger (8.5 in. by 11 in. compared to 7 in. × 10 in.), and it features a third author (Elisabeth Sherman). Domain-specific introductory material is expanded in many chapters, and two more general introductory chapters have been added to the beginning of the book. The actual number of tests reviewed has not grown proportionally (it now stands at 108 compared to 98), but reviews themselves are far more extensive (the main reason for the book's increased length).

In previous editions, selection of tests for the Compendium was based on their use in the University of Victoria Neuropsychology Laboratory. For this edition, the authors based inclusion on review of recent literature. Tests from the second edition were retained if they were still in general use; new tests were added based on their appearance in the literature (and the authors' sense of emerging trends in the field). The result is a full reorganization of the book that is both more specific in addressing tests of interest to neuropsychologists, and more general in addressing tests used by a greater number of neuropsychologists.

In total, fifty-four new tests have been added, while the occupational, vocational, and most of the general psychosocial and behavioral measures have been removed. The third edition also features expanded coverage of pediatric measures (e.g., the NEPSY, Test of Everyday Attention for Children, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Children's Memory Scale, Gray Oral Reading Test-IV), and some pediatric tests formerly discussed in reviews of their adult counterparts are now separately reviewed (e.g., Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-III, and the California Verbal Learning Test-Children's Version). In addition, where applicable, reviews of adult-based measures also highlight normative data available for children and adolescents.

The format of test reviews has been changed and is more consistent. Each test's age range is reported at the beginning of its review, and far more extensive use of headings, subheadings, and tables significantly aids navigation within the expanded reviews. For example, the review of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) has almost doubled in size (it now spans 30 pages with 158 references, up from 22 smaller pages and 73 references in the second edition). Finding a description of IQ or of a demographic variable's effect on the ROCF is nevertheless simple, as it is easy to flip through to find “Demographic Effects,” and from there look for subheadings for Age, Gender, IQ, Education, or Ethnicity.

Chapter introductions also include a table listing test names, age ranges, administration time and other relevant details for the tests described in that section, and, at least for main subject areas (e.g., general cognitive functioning, executive functions, memory), these introductions have been expanded. New material for the chapter on assessment of response bias is particularly welcome and even includes information on management of clients and communication of findings when suboptimal performance is suspected. Finally, two new general introductory chapters join the existing chapters on history taking, test selection, and report writing. The new material presents an excellent, concise review of general principles of psychometrics and norm selection. Given the Compendium's role as a general reference work, this material might be overlooked by the reader, which would be a shame as the information they contain is valuable and presented well.

Certainly the Compendium cannot be all things to all people, and it seems petty to criticize its inevitable omissions, yet those who work with children will still notice some absences, including the Mullen, the UNIT, and other specialized tests such as the CTOPP. Such omissions are certainly forgivable, as the pediatric coverage is really quite expanded and there is much here that benefits both the adult and pediatric specialist. Some may wish that the increased size of this edition might have meant more reviews overall. Given the frustration occasionally encountered when a favorite test was found missing in past editions, this is understandable. Perhaps the authors' decision to include tests based on a literature review means that this will happen less often (what you want to find may be more likely to be there). As for the scope of the reviews, the individual reader must decide whether the authors' decision to go “deep” rather than “wide” was a good one. Even in their expanded form, the reviews remain as readable as they are informative, and the commentary on each test is simply invaluable. One would hate to see any of this material removed for the sake of brevity. Following recent trends among neuropsychology texts, this is also quite a large book, and two volumes would be welcome if it were to expand much further. It would also be helpful for the publisher to find a way to include the text on a CD-ROM, as this would greatly aid those who bring their work on the road.

Should you buy this book? In deciding, the reader must confront the question posed in the preface: “How well do you know your tools?” Most neuropsychologists would surely answer, “Not as well as I wish I did.” Having a copy of the third edition of the Compendium at hand would help any of us ‘know our tools’ substantially better. A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, Third Edition is a mature work of outstanding scholarship, and it should find a place on every neuropsychologist's desk.