Book excerpt: Dr. Lester Adelson's original The Pathology of Homicide has been described as a "superb textbook" and "without doubt…the best written book of its type in the English language" by Dr. Charles Hirsch. This new, revised edition preserves Dr. Adelson's eloquent and articulate voice, while bringing the subject matter up to date. Since the first edition was published in 1974, Dr. Adelson’s book was a treasured text among many forensic pathologists. The “aging” of the book, however, made it less appealing to the new generation of forensic pathologists, and Dr. Adelson’s important contribution to forensic pathology was at risk of being lost. Although much has changed in forensic pathology in the ensuing nearly fifty years since it was first written, much also has stayed the same. In this new edition, the author, Dr. James Gill—Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Connecticut and past president of the National Association of Medical Examiners—preserves the voice, vision, and wisdom of Dr. Adelson while updating the forensic pathology material. The author has included nearly 700 all new color images. In addition, the references have been updated with over 4,400 citations. Six new chapters and sections have been added, including death certification, elder abuse, pediatric head injury, drugs of misuse, histopathology, and bereavement. Other updates are included on DNA technology, CT scans, and novel drugs. Although primarily concerned with homicides, there is the need to be able to recognize natural, accidental, and suicidal deaths; therefore, these topics are interspersed in the text to give the appropriate context. This book will help the reader understand the details of injuries and how a person was injured, why they died, and how these injuries, perhaps at first blush seemingly insignificant, can shed new light on a death investigation. It is the author’s hope to get this book to the next generation of forensic pathologists.