Vaccines: Preventing Disease Protecting Health does not provide the type of vaccine-specific information as Plotkin and Orenstein’s Vaccines (1), nor does it provide the details on the immune system of Bloom and Lambert’s The Vaccine Book (2). The book does not cover every important vaccine issue, such as ethical issues in vaccine trials and the conduct of clinical trials; most critically, it lacks an index. But these limitations are minor compared to what the book provides.

This relatively small book provides state-of-the-art information by those who are directly involved with vaccine and immunization programs. The book evolved from a meeting held November 25-27, 2002, in Washington, D.C., at which many of the world’s top vaccine scientists reported on their research. As the book jacket states, the roster of authors reads like a Who’s Who in vaccine research and public health immunization programs. This publication comes from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office, which has been at the forefront of almost every major vaccine initiative for the past 30 years, including the eradication of polio, elimination of measles, and strategies to control rubella and neonatal tetanus. These programs have served as models emulated by other WHO regions in the world. The editor, Ciro A. de Quadros, former director of PAHO’s Vaccine and Immunization Program, has a scholarly hand, as well as an eye towards what is practical and useful. This book conveys not only what has been achieved in the arena of vaccine-preventable diseases in the 30 years since the first such conference was convened by PAHO in 1970 but also what is most likely to happen during the next 30 years.