Book excerpt: This issue of Surgical Clinics of North America focuses on Rural Surgery and is edited by Dr. Tyler G. Hughes. Articles will include: Status of the rural workplace: Hospital survival and economics; Rural standards and the quality equation; Scope of practice of the rural surgeon; Advanced technology and the rural surgeon; Qualitative research in rural surgery; Perioperative support in the rural surgery world; Initial and ongoing training of the rural surgeon; Demographics in rural populations; Dealing with the sick rural surgery patient in need of transfer; National quality projects and patient selection decisions; Status of the rural surgical workforce; Regionalization of rural surgery; and more!