Book excerpt: There are many academic references describing how RMs are made, but few that explain why they are used, how they should be used and what happens when they are not properly used. In order to fill this gap, the editors have taken the contributions of more than thirty RM practitioners to produce a highly readable text organized in nine chapters. Starting with an introduction to historical, theoretical and technical requirements, the book goes on to examine all aspects of RM production from planning, preparation through analysis to certification, reviews recent development areas, RMs for life analysis and some important general application fields, considers the proper usage of RMs, gives advice on availability and sources of information and lastly looks at future trends and needs for RMs. This book is intended to be a single point of information that both guides the reader through the use of RMs and serves as a primary reference source. It should be on the reading list of anyone working in an analytical laboratory and be found on the library shelf of all analytical chemical laboratories.