Each topical chapter in this volume crystallizes the findings of a five-year study, under the auspices of the Population Health Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, that probed the links between social hierarchy, the 'macroenvironmental' factors in illness patterns, the quality of the 'microenvironmental,' and other determinants of health. In its aggregate, this volume will prove essential to an understanding of the underlying public health issues for the next several decades.