Book excerpt: A visual companion to one of the most ambitious texts to be published in dermatology for some years, this is a comprehensive guide to 284 dermatologic conditions by means of up to 4000 color photographs. These photographs are used as examples of each of the multiple diagnostic possibilities, with an emphasis on unusual presentations of common clinical entities, as well as common presentations of rare and unusual disorders. Readers who use this Atlas in conjunction with the separate compendium of diagnostic categorization will be able to fine-tune their visual diagnostic skills at the same time as their organizational thought processes in an instructive and enjoyable intellectual and clinical exercise. This unique high-quality road map through clinical dermatology should form part of the core library of every practicing dermatologist.