There is increasing evidence that thermal subsidence of some passive margins is interrupted by periods of post-breakup compressional deformation. This Geological Society Special Publication comprises ten original research papers (plus a preface) that explore the possible causes and consequences of compressional deformation on passive margins. It focuses on compressional deformation inferred to have occurred in response to regional stresses transmitted through the basement, rather than on the ‘thin-skinned’ gravity-related compression associated with, say, deepwater fold and thrust belts. The volume was inspired by a joint Petroleum Group–Tectonic Studies Group conference ‘Compressional deformation within passive margins: nature, causes and effects’ hosted by the Geological Society in 2005.

The papers deal with compressional deformation on the European (NE Atlantic, west Iberia) and Australian passive margins and adjacent basins, thus including examples from both volcanic and non-volcanic margins. A key theme to emerge from several of these studies is the episodic nature of compressional deformation, and its implications for understanding the likely sources of compressional stresses on passive margins. Other important controls highlighted here include the reactivation of pre-existing basement structures and the rheological layering of the lithosphere. Many of the papers also discuss the importance of compressional folds as hydrocarbon exploration targets, whilst the final paper uses a geomechanical model to assess the likelihood of fault reactivation (hence fluid leakage) in a potential CO₂ storage site in the Otway Basin, Australia.

Overall, this volume raises important questions about the nature of compression in passive margins. The first three papers in particular develop a range of hypotheses to explain the causes of compressional structures in such settings. However, I felt that the volume lacked focus: it neither provided a comprehensive survey of compressional deformation on passive margins (being rather Europe- and Australia-centric), nor did it fully explore the implications for the geodynamics or hydrocarbon potential of passive margins. I felt that the book could have been strengthened by including a review of the evidence for compressional deformation on other passive margins worldwide. Such a review might have helped to put into perspective the hypotheses put forward to explain compression on the European and Australian margins. Nevertheless, I would certainly recommend this volume to academic researchers and petroleum geoscientists with an interest in passive margins and I believe that the questions raised here will help stimulate future research on this interesting topic.