Six years have passed since the first edition of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine was published. Those 6 years have not been peaceful: conflict has continued in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and the Middle East. Terrorist attacks have continued around the world and London has had its first experience of suicide bombings. The landscape for humanitarian work is dangerous and challenging. The aim of this second edition is in line with the first edition - to provide an ent- level resource for people working (or considering work) in a hostile environment. Contributors with real hard one practical experience have been invited to share their views, and they do this with a raw honesty in a variety of writing styles. The second edition of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine has benefited from these contributions, and we hope our prospective readers will do so as well. The book editors are donating their royalties from this book to the charity "Help for Heroes'. Adriaan Hopperus Buma Alan Hawley David G. Burris James M. Ryan Peter F. Mahoney v Preface to the First Edition This work is intended as an entry-level text aimed at medical, nursing and pa- medical staff undertaking work in a hostile environment.

The second revised, expanded and updated edition of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine: A Practical Guide provides a framework for use by health professionals visiting a resource-constrained environment. Since the first edition was written in 2002, there have been seismic changes following on from the terrorist assault on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The Middle East, the Far East and parts of Africa are convulsed by conflict, much of them verging on civil war. Further, natural disasters of staggering scale have occurred since the first edition â?"Tsunamis in South East Asia, Earthquakes in Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan and a monster Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. The working environment for the prospective humanitarian volunteer has changed forever.

Encompassing problems brought about by local conflict or natural disasters, this book covers preparation, organisation, logistics, treatment of major trauma and medical emergencies, and the special problems of delivering medicine in a hostile environment.

Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine: A Practical Guide comprehensively tackles:
- self-preparation of health professionals to face a range of medical and related problems which occur in hostile and remote environments;
- war and disaster medicine, covering acute management, rehabilitation, reconstruction and prevention;
- bridging the fields of medicine, nursing, international relations, history, politics and economics.
Other topics covered include nutrition, infection, trauma, psychiatry and psychological medicine and training.

James M Ryan Leonard Cheshire Professor at UCL, London, UK

Alan Hawley OBE Director, Conflict and Catastrophe Faculty at Society of Apothecaries & Major General DGAMS, UK

David Burris Professor & Chairman, Department of Surgery, United Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

Adriaan Hopperus-Buma Netherlands Convenor for Diploma in the Medical Careof Catastrophes (DMMC). Medical Services, Royal Netherlands Navy, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Peter F Mahoney OBE Consultant in Anaesthetics and Resuscitation, Defence Medical Services, Birmingham, UK