THE COMPLETE THOMPSON TEXTBOOK, MINARDI INTEGRATED SYSTEMS, BY JOHN MINARDI BHK, DC. This book is organized in a logical and practical manner, starting with a comprehensive list of cervical syndromes, and continuing to the pelvis (including clean-up manoeuvers), and encompassing lumbar and dorsal syndromes. An extremity section is also included, as well as a section on the application of Thompson-style procedures for pediatric patients. This practical approach is very appropriate for the busy practitioner. The procedural algorithms at the end of each section enable the reader to see the previous chapter’s information on a single page. This provides an effective way to learn, allowing the reader to internalize the large quantity of detail contained within the information. The summaries that support this internalizing step could easily be blown up and hung on the wall as professional “cheat sheets.” Dr. Minardi also includes modifications to the Thompson system created by Dr. L. Joe Stucky, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This approach to the Thompson Technique is compelling, especially if a drop table is not available. He incorporates Gonstead cervical chair and Pettibon ideas into Thompson work for a unique hybrid system that has proven to be extremely practical, based on Stucky’s 50 years of experience in practice. Dr. Minardi includes case studies for each manoeuver. I believe these are very helpful to the less experienced chiropractic student, making his book quite usable in the classroom as well as the clinic. Some diagrams could have been more clearly explained or drawn. The many clear photographs proved more helpful than the drawings, showing the segmental contacts and the doctor’s stance for each procedure. Use of references could have been more effective, particularly in the biomechanical and neurological explanations of how and why Thompson manoeuvres are performed as they are. But, an inherent challenge for anyone writing about techniques is the fact that the developers usually created their systems out of necessity in the clinical setting, and Dr. Minardi did an overall fine job of lending depth to each description. This textbook reminded me of the joy I originally felt in learning the Thompson method of spinal analysis and correction. On reading Dr. Minardi’s book, I was struck by how much of the technique I never used to its full advantage. All in all, I highly recommend The Complete Thompson Textbook- Minardi Integrated Systems to anyone who either currently uses the Thompson technique, or who wants to learn it. It is the finest example of a Thompson Technique text I have seen yet.