Book excerpt: This text captures the global standards of bariatric surgery practice at a time of change, excitement, and lots of controversy. The text sheds the light on best practices globally by providing a reliable reference to guide the practicing physician anywhere in the world, and from whatever specialty (surgeon, gastroenterologist or endoscopist) to navigate through the many current options of therapy in this rapidly changing field. The text provides high definition illustrations of these techniques to go with the didactic chapters written by the thought leaders in the field. In addition to the technical part, an important part of the book focuses on quality and outcome measures. The rapid growth and innovations impose the need for strict guidelines and quality control. Thought leaders who created the concept of “Centers of Excellence” shed light on outcome measures and different ways to monitor quality. This will appeal to administrators and different ancillary service providers. The medical section plays a major role as combination therapy seems to be the future. An entire section is dedicated to medical weight management with discussions of the dietary and psychological component of care. The text also provides a dedicated discussion of the metabolic aspect of bariatric surgery, cosmetic surgery and issues of training future surgeons. Thease features differentiate the book from others that only discuss the surgical component, and will broaden the level of interest to all who are involved in the management of this complex disease.