"Rheumatic Disease" is the second monograph in a new series on management and treatment in major clinical subspecialties and patient groups. Further volumes will be published over the next few years. Each book is complete in its own right. The whole series, however, has been prepared to fill a gap, perceived by the publisher, myself and the volume authors, between standard text­ books of medicine and therapeutics and research reviews, sympo­ sia' and original articles in specialist fields. Each volume aims to provide a concise, up to date account of treatment in its subject area with particular reference to drug therapy. Wherever pos­ sible, authorship has been undertaken by practising clinicians who themselves have training and experience in clinical pharma­ cology. The volumes are intended to be guides to treatment, to assist in the choice of drug and other treatment and to provide easy references to drug interactions and adverse reactions. The aims of the series should be upheld by this volume on "Rheumatic Disease". The book has been prepared in Glasgow and Newcastle. The authors, Drs. Hilary Capell, Terry Daymond and Carson Dick, are not only respected clinicians and rheumato­ logists but have wide clinical and research experience in the clinical pharmacology of antirheumatic drugs and therapeutic management of connective tissue disease and other areas of rheumatology. This volume combines practical pragmatic man­ agement with new concepts in drug treatment.