Book excerpt: Raman spectroscopy has been known and used as a technique for 80 years, originally for the study of inorganic substances. Recent advances in underlying technology, such as lasers, detectors, filters and components, have transformed the technique into a very effective modern tool for studying complex biological problems. Professor Mahmoud Ghomi (of the University of Paris XIII) has edited this book on the applications of Raman spectroscopy to biology, covering in a readily accessible way the area from basic studies to the diagnosis of disease. The early chapters provide background information on basic principles underlying the main Raman methods covered in the book, with information on Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and Surface-Enhanced Fluorescence (SEF), as well as giving accounts of applications to biomolecular and cellular investigations. Among the topics covered are studies of drugs and their complexes with biomolecules on nanoparticles, application of SERS to blood analysis, studies of single cells and of applications to human cancer diagnostics.This will be a useful book for experimental scientists in academic, governmental, industrial and clinical environments and for those entering the field of biomolecular spectroscopy.