Everyone teaching an undergraduate course in parasitology is faced with the daunting task of choosing a textbook from the list of available titles. Often, because no textbook satisfies all teachers, this choice amounts to nothing more than settling for the book that comes closest to one's expectations. The newest contender on the scene should greatly facilitate this whole process. Bush et al.'s book is a comprehensive, nicely illustrated, well-indexed textbook, written in a generally user-friendly style and accompanied by an extensive glossary. Boxes scattered throughout the text contain interesting digressions into various historical, social, medical or methodological areas of relevance to the study of parasitism. The book provides a list of current websites touching various aspects of parasitology, and is well designed overall to capture the interest of modern undergraduate students.
Bush et al. promote an ecological perspective of parasitism. Immunological and biochemical processes are summarised in an early chapter, over a few pages densely packed with information; still, these would not be detailed enough to satisfy teachers of parasitology courses with a more physiological or medical bias. The book is clearly aimed at courses that take an ecological or evolutionary approach to host–parasite interactions.
Like all parasitology textbooks designed for the American market, the Bush et al. book contains a detailed phylum-by-phylum survey of parasite diversity. The good news is that this accounts for only half the book. The other half of the book (and its main strength) is devoted to a discussion of the ecology of parasitism. The authors cover a large amount of material in those last seven chapters, and present a comprehensive, well-balanced picture of the state of ecological parasitology. They do not hesitate to point out matters of dispute among parasitologists, or other grey areas in need of further research.
The chapters on parasite community ecology and biogeography were particularly well designed, as was the final one on evolutionary aspects. The latter chapter covers a broad range of topics; I found the section of parasite population genetics particularly useful, especially given that this subject is usually not even discussed in other undergraduate textbooks of parasitology. In contrast, I was less satisfied with the three chapters dealing with population ecology and dynamics of parasites and hosts. Their basic structure, and the authors' reliance on detailed case studies rather than a careful discussion of the key concepts, do not always result in clear take home messages. The section on epidemiology and models (chapter 12) does not present a single equation, not even a formal definition of R0, the basic transmission rate central to epidemiological theory. These three chapters also present conclusions that could be challenged. For instance, the role of density-dependence in regulating the size of parasite infrapopulations or component populations is deemed unimportant in most cases (p. 331).
The above are minor criticisms, however, that do not change my overall positive impression of this book. The authors and publishers have succeeded in producing a book that conveys all the fascinating complexity of host–parasite associations, and that should stimulate students to pursue postgraduate research and careers in parasitology. I would not hesitate to recommend it as the textbook of choice for any parasitology course with an ecological flavour.
