Only the intrepid, the unaware, and those with particularly broad competence dare venture into the field covered by this volume, for it is singularly demanding in its requirement for a broad base of expertise—in biochemistry, pathology, microbial physiology and genetics, immunology, eucaryotic cell physiology, etc. Thus reviews such as this one—the report of a Dahlem Workshop held in late 1979—fill an important need for updating of workers in the field of microbial pathogenicity.

The declared goal of the Conference was “to compare and contrast the molecular processes which underlie infection.” The report comprises 20 relatively short presentations introduced by a concise chapter written by editor H. Smith on the rigorous criteria required to establish an agent as a determinant of virulence. Space does not permit discussion of the individual contributions; they were divided into sections followed by group reports defining the frontiers in that area and pointing out the major unanswered questions.