Rehabilitation medicine has a clear but complex mission. As the 13th century physician-philosopher Maimonides once remarked, "To sustain and nurture a man alive in the throes of disease and disability is as great a miracle as to create him." This credo, emblematic of physiatry's calling, is well represented in the pages of Dr Randall L. Braddom's new rehabilitation textbook, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation . Intended as a revitalized rendition of an earlier classical rehabilitation text, Krusen's Handbook of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , this volume aims to expand and modernize its coverage of PM&R. The goal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , according to its editor, is to "meet the needs of the modern practitioner." By providing state-of-the art information, this volume is a nice complement to its legendary predecessor. As one of several formidable physiatry textbooks that have become available in recent years, Braddom's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is likely to appeal