Book excerpt: This book is aimed at the General Surgical Trainee who is embarking on Higher Surgical Training (HST) and its structure closely follows the current HST syllabus. It therefore builds on Fundamentals of Surgical Practice to provide the detail required for this readership and, in particular, includes full details of all of the operative techniques that the candidate is expected to be familiar with. Fully illustrated throughout, and featuring high quality surgical line drawings, it will be an essential purchase for the candidate embarking on higher surgical training and taking the next important step in their surgical career.