Phage display of peptides and proteins is a rather useful text containing many recipes and detailed protocols for working with phage. The manual starts with an introduction by George Smith himself which is rather candid in its honesty and modesty and perhaps a little cutting in its closing remarks. About 15 chapters follow each written by different authors. These vary in quality from very good to mediocre. The first chapters deal with a detailed introduction to filamentous phage biology. Subsequently, there are chapters giving detailed protocols for manipulating and mutating dna. Included are extensive lists of phagemids, which for the newcomer to the field is extremely useful for deciding which vector would be most useful to use.

There are a few chapters that could be described as dead wood and the manual suffers from a bit of repetition of laboratory procedures owing to the many authors. This could also be viewed in a positive light as presenting different approaches to achieving the same goal. The main focus is on the use of phage to display peptides but the display of proteins get a bit of a mention. There is also a chapter on the use of phage to display antibodies and the selection of such antibodies.

One of the major benefits of this manual is the extensive number of references to be found at the end of each chapter. As each chapter begins with a review of an area there is an extensive list of phage references that follow.

Finally, the appendix contains an assortment of useful information ranging from E. coli codon usage to the sequence of phage coat proteins. In general I would say this book is an excellent addition to any laboratory contemplating the use of phage display.