The editors decided to commission a set of review articles based on the proceedings of a symposium held under the auspices of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, September 1990, Paris, France. The 26 articles give a rounded picture of current knowledge of acinetobacters-ubiquitous organisms in the environment that have been implicated in a variety of food spoilage and human disease processes. They are often resistant to commonly used antibiotics and may form a reservoir of antibiotic resistant genes, particularly in hospital environments. Because they are easy to isolate and grow, and because a major biochemical feature of the genus is the range of compounds that can be metabolized, they are particularly useful for study and may play a part in the biodegradation of hazardous wastes and pollutants. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews. com) | The Biology of Acinetobacter by K J Towner, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters