When I entered the field of allergy in the early 1970s, the standard textbook was a few hundred pages, and the specialty was so compact that texts were often authored entirely by a single individual and were never larger than one volume. Compare this with Allergy Frontiers: Epigenetics, Allergens, and Risk Factors, the present s- volume text with well over 150 contributors from throughout the world. This book captures the explosive growth of our specialty since the single-author textbooks referred to above. The unprecedented format of this work lies in its meticulous attention to detail yet comprehensive scope. For example, great detail is seen in manuscripts dealing with topics such as “Exosomes, naturally occurring minimal antigen presenting units” and “Neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1), an asthma susceptibility gene.” The scope is exemplified by the unique approach to disease entities normally dealt with in a single chapter in most texts. For example, anaphylaxis, a topic usually confined to one chapter in most textbooks, is given five chapters in Allergy Frontiers. This approach allows the text to employ multiple contributors for a single topic, giving the reader the advantage of being introduced to more than one vi- point regarding a single disease.

Diagnosis and DD of Allergic Diseases.- History of Allergy.- Allergy Diagnosis.- Nasal and Bronchial Provocation Tests.- Nasal and Bronchial Nonallergic Provocation Tests.- Sputum Tests and Exhaled NO in the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Asthma.- Lung Function and Bronchial Challenge Testing for the Allergist.- Investigative Bronchoprovocation and Bronchoscopy in Patients with Bronchial Asthma.- Exhaled NO in Asthma.- Basophil Activation Tests for Allergy Diagnosis.- CD203c for Allergy Diagnosis.- Flow-Assisted Analysis of Basophils: A Valuable Instrument for In Vitro Allergy Diagnosis.- Recombinant Allergens for the Diagnosis and Treatment of House Dust Mite Allergy.- Diagnosis of Occupational Rhinitis.- Asthma: Clinical Descriptions and Definitions.- Occupational Asthma.- Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis.- Clinical Aspects and Diagnosis of Atopic Eczema.- Clinical Aspects and Diagnosis of Anaphylaxis.- Angioedema in the Emergency Department.- Diagnosis of Aspirin Sensitivity in Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease.- Food Allergy: Diagnosis of Food Allergy.- Evaluation of the Patient with Photosensitivity.- Clinical Manifestations of Allergic Diseases: Drug Hypersensitivity.- State of the Art: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.- Monitoring the Allergic Inflammation.- Allergy and Asthma Education.- Asthma Patient Education.- The Costs of Allergy and Asthma and the Potential Benefit of Prevention Strategies.- Outcome Measures in Asthma Management.

When I entered the field of allergy in the early 1970s, the standard textbook was a few hundred pages, and the specialty was so compact that texts were often authored entirely by a single individual and were never larger than one volume. Compare this with Allergy Frontiers: Epigenetics, Allergens, and Risk Factors, the present s- volume text with well over 150 contributors from throughout the world. This book captures the explosive growth of our specialty since the single-author textbooks referred to above. The unprecedented format of this work lies in its meticulous attention to detail yet comprehensive scope. For example, great detail is seen in manuscripts dealing with topics such as “Exosomes, naturally occurring minimal antigen presenting units” and “Neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1), an asthma susceptibility gene.” The scope is exemplified by the unique approach to disease entities normally dealt with in a single chapter in most texts. For example, anaphylaxis, a topic usually confined to one chapter in most textbooks, is given five chapters in Allergy Frontiers. This approach allows the text to employ multiple contributors for a single topic, giving the reader the advantage of being introduced to more than one vi- point regarding a single disease.