The New Compendium: A Mature Work of Outstanding Scholarship

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A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests, Third Edition: Administration, Norms, and Commentary, by Esther Strauss, Elisabeth M.S. Sherman, and Otfried Spreen. 2006. New York: Oxford University Press, 1216 pp., $99.00 (HB).

Many regard A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests as an essential reference text. Principally valued for its test reviews, normative data, administration instructions, and commentary, its reviews of cognitive domains have also provided a useful overview of the field of neuropsychology. Published eight years after the second edition, one might expect the Third Edition to feature revised entries for updated tests, new entries for recently published tests, pruning of tests that are no longer in general use, and other minor revisions where appropriate. In fact, the new edition of the Compendium delivers dramatically more. As stated in the preface, the goal for this edition was to create a user-friendly reference work that covered all the relevant details of the most frequently used neuropsychological tests, and to provide a general overview of issues “germane to neuropsychological assessment.” In short: To help you “know your tools” and to function as a guidebook to the practice of neuropsychology. These goals are surely met—beyond all expectations.