In Latin America Trypanosoma vivax and T. evansi are widespread and important pathogens of cattle, horses and other livestock, and are mechanically transmitted by bloodsucking flies such as tabanids. Information on the epidemiology and control of these livestock trypanosomoses is scarce and thus an authoritative account is most welcome. In this review, Marc Desquesnes has drawn on his extensive practical experience of these veterinary pathogens in Latin America (French Guiana), illuminated with insights from his parallel work on the tsetse-transmitted species in West Africa. The six chapters deal with the basic biology of Trypanosoma vivax and T. evansi and their vectors, the clinical picture, pathogenesis, diagnosis and control of the diseases and their epidemiology, as well as touching upon other trypanosomes such as T. theileri, T. cruzi and T. equiperdum found in Latin America. The veterinary aspects are expertly reviewed, although the information presented on epidemiology is more than a decade old (collected 1990–1995). The chapter on insect vectors catalogues not only the role of tabanids and other bloodsucking flies in transmitting trypanosomes and other pathogens, but also the direct harm caused by these irritating flies in terms of blood loss and harassment of livestock leading to lowered productivity. However, this chapter is marred by lapses in accuracy, e.g. that pupiparous hippoboscids lay eggs and tabanids sting their hosts. The author also makes an idiosyncratic distinction between bloodsucking and haematophagous biting insects. Overall, the book is rather uneven in terms of the level of detail, accuracy and utility. Some material could have been omitted without loss, e.g. the introductory information on trypanosome evolution, which is out of date. The book is well illustrated, but some figures, particularly photographs, suffer from poor quality reproduction. The original version was written in French and this translation would have benefited from the scrutiny of a native English speaker to weed out errors of grammar (e.g. trypanosomes on rather than in their hosts), and, considering the book will have a wide audience among Spanish and Portuguese speakers, to simplify the language – pullulate was certainly new to my vocabulary.