‘The very last thing a drug regulator wishes to be able to say is, like Lord Byron (1788-1824), on the publication of his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, ‘I awoke one morning and found myself famous.’The twelfth edition of this long-established textbook of clinical pharmacology (first published in 1960) continues its fine tradition of balancing science and practice for improved evidence-based drug therapy and good prescribing in therapeutic settings increasingly complicated by intercurrent disease and polypharmacy. Coverage of all major therapeutic topics by body systemIntroductory sections give brief chapter synopsesCase studies where relevantCovers the needs of the developing world with a focus on practical prescribing and health technology assessmentDefinition, tips, brief explanation boxes throughoutInteresting histories, etymologies and provenances of terms throughoutEntertaining footnotes throughout