Book excerpt: As Director of the Division of Mental Health at the World Health Organization, and subsequently President of the World Psychiatric Association, Norman Sartorius has over many years been in a position to survey the state of psychiatry worldwide and to campaign for greater equity and honesty in the clinical and research agenda. The essays collected in this 2002 book represent his latest thinking, as well as including his own selection from among a few of his innumerable speeches and previously published articles. They range from trenchant critiques of mental health service delivery and prevention to more light-hearted, anecdotal pieces on the use of language and how to get things done. All point to the core concerns for mental health programmes today: definition of needs; the role of psychiatry worldwide; and the challenges that urbanization presents for mental health. This is a book that every psychiatrist will wish to own.