What should one offer to undergraduates as recommended reading for the 1990s? Since the question was last addressed in this journal (Mindham, 1982) much in psychiatry has altered. The student needs to be aware of the reorganisation of mental health services, with the closure of many old hospitals and the push into the community. Other changes include a growth in the elderly population, an ever-increasing number of psychotropic drugs, more emphasis on the multidisciplinary approach and the role of substance abuse in mental disorder, and the strengthened relationship between psychiatry and both general practice and other hospital medical services. There has been new mental health legislation since 1982, and the future doctor will also need to adjust to the advent of NHS reforms, with all its ramifications.