Book excerpt: This accessible text covers the entirety of General Practice and the General Practitioner, from student to retirement and from the beginning of the NHS to the present day. It provides a comprehensive historical overview representing both academic and front-line perspectives, describing what has changed, beneficial or otherwise, as the specialty has evolved. The details within each chapter represent the views of the average working British GP and illustrate how the changes over the decades have impacted patient care and its delivery. The perspective often differs from that which prevails in many academic tomes on the subject. The topics covered, from the primary care team, changes to out-of-hours provision, the impact of IT, training, and regulation, to the future of General Practice, will be essential reading for all doctors considering a career in the specialty and will also be of interest to GP vocational training scheme course organisers and trainers, overseas medical educators and healthcare policy makers, social and medical historians, and the general public.