Book excerpt: This is the 13th edition of a book written for students and specialists who are interested in developing a fundamental understanding of pathology and treatment of hematologic diseases. The amount of knowledge required by hematologists to identify the best course of treatment for a patient in this field is changing rapidly and has fueled an explosion of new drugs that target pathways virtually unknown a decade ago. We are now also entering an era of effective immunotherapy for a variety of hematologic malignancies, but the long term outcomes and toxicities of these treatment approaches are still unknown. This first edition in English is a significant novelty in the history of this work. Its underlying goals, however, remain the same of the first Italian edition: to help students and specialists understand the basis, treatment and management of hematologic diseases.