Book excerpt: This book represents a new development in the discussion of community care policies with its integrated approach addressed to both community nurses and social workers. It includes contributions from practitioners in both fields, as well as lecturers and researchers in sociology and social policy. The overall theme of the book is the concept of 'community' as a social and cultural construction. The authors begin with an account of the historical construction of community care, followed by explorations of the actual practice of the delivery of care and of the needs of particular groups within the community.