Book excerpt: As a major mainstay of clinical focus and research today, bipolar disorder affects millions of individuals across the globe with its extreme and erratic shifts of mood, thinking and behavior. Edited by a team of experts in the field, The Bipolar Book: History, Neurobiology, and Treatment is a testament and guide to diagnosing and treating this exceedingly complex, highly prevalent disease. Featuring 45 chapters from an expert team of contributors from around the world, The Bipolar Book delves deep into the origins of the disorder and how it informs clinical practice today by focusing on such topics as bipolar disorder occurring in special populations, stigmatization of the disease, the role genetics play, postmortem studies, psychotherapy, treatments and more. Designed to be the definitive reference volume for clinicians, students and researchers, Aysegül Yildiz, Pedro Ruiz and Charles Nemeroff present The Bipolar Book as a "must have" for those caregivers who routinely deal with this devastating disease.