The excitement of the immense progress in patient management in chronic rheumatic diseases that has been made since the first edition in 1995 is felt throughout these pages. The second edition of Treatment of rheumatic diseases: a companion to Kelley's textbook of rheumatology provides excellent reviews of our improved understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of inflammation and autoimmunity, accurate summaries of recent treatment trials in the various rheumatological disorders, reasonable and logical conclusions from the trials with …