Book excerpt: This book explores the historical background to, and present-day understanding of, a number of unusual psychiatric disorders. This fully revised new edition contains a new chapter on a range of recently emerging conditions as well as updated literature and a collection of new and updated cases. Since the publication of the fourth edition, there have been many developments in the field of psychiatry, including changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the advancement of neuroimaging and related research, which have been incorporated into the fifth edition. In this now classic text, each chapter covers an individual disorder in detail, using several case studies gathered by the authors themselves to illustrate and exemplify the disorders discussed. The clear and easy-to-understand writing style ensures that this text is accessible for the wide range of studies and professions who will find it useful. Uncommon Psychiatric Syndromes, Fifth Edition, is essential reading for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatric social workers, social workers and other mental health professionals. It will also be of interest to graduate students in the fields of psychiatry and psychology as well as those enrolled in psychiatry resident courses.