As is made clear at the start, the book is a collaborative effort with contributions from R. F. Butler, S. K. Banerjee and R. van der Voo and indeed this book replaces and surpasses Butler's as the new ‘standard’ text for anyone requiring an introduction to palaeomagnetism. In many ways it follows the original format of the Butler text but integrates this with Tauxe's previous volume which was much more focussed on the physics and statistics behind the subject. It starts by introducing the reader to a series of essential background information: the essential physics of magnetism (chapter 1), the nature of the geomagnetic field (chapter 2) and rock magnetism (chapters 3–8). The practical, laboratory-based need to know material, forms the second half of the book and is divided into two broad areas: palaeomagnetic and statistical analysis (chapters 9–13) and then on into aspects of the application of palaeomagnetism (chapters 14–16). It is, however, a much more successful and fulsome text than anything previously available, both because of the way it is written and due to the presence of three additional elements. The first is the use of colour both in diagrams and photographs throughout, which greatly clarifies things for the budding palaeomagnetist and simply adds to the high quality of the illustrations throughout. The second is the use of supportive software using the Python scripting language with many ready to use examples that relate directly to the examples in the book and can be downloaded from the companion website. While it is openly stated that getting ‘Python’ to work is tricky, and this it proves, it does mean that students will be able to make the calculations and analyses for themselves. The third support mechanism is the website itself with useful supportive material including errata, problem set solutions and updates and, indeed, the whole book is available online! The physical and statistical background to the subject is particularly well handled throughout, reflecting Lisa Tauxe's expertise; if I had a criticism it would be that the tectonic applications chapter occupies only a modest 20 pages of the whole book while most people involved in the subject will find themselves involved with this part of the subject at some time or another. Overall this is an extremely useful, up to date and well thought out introduction to the subject of palaeomagnetism and should be on every student's booklist if they undertake a project in the subject at undergraduate or postgraduate level. Indeed, in my opinion, it should be on the bookshelf of anyone who calls themselves a palaeomagnetist.