Book excerpt: For the first time experts in the area of signalling research with a focus on the ARF family have contributed to the production of a title devoted to ARF biology. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the ARF family, tables of the ARF GEFs and ARF GAPs, and more than a dozen chapters describing them in detail are provided. The impact of the ARF proteins on widely diverse aspects of cell biology and cell signalling can be clearly seen from the activities described; including membrane traffic, lipid metabolism, receptor desensitization, mouse development, microtubule dynamics, and bacterial pathogenesis. Anyone interested in understanding the complexities of cell signalling and the integration of signalling networks will benefit from this volume.