Book excerpt: Now in full-colour, this eagerly-anticipated second edition continues to be the most comprehensive resource available on non-invasive ventilation (NIV), both in the hospital and at home. Reflecting a global perspective with expert contributors from more than 15 countries, the book: • provides clinical examples of NIV in practice with insightful vignettes • covers home- and intensive care-based ventilation • details NIV use in acute and chronic respiratory failure, plus paediatric and other specialty applications. Disease-specific sections provide best practice in the science, diagnostics and management of conditions such as COPD, cardiac failure, neuromuscular disease and obesity, while features such as ‘Common Clinical Questions & Answers’, abundant tables and illustrations, chapter summaries and new clinical vignettes showcase the realities of NIV in practice. This is essential reading for pulmonologists, critical care physicians and intensive care medicine specialists.