The seventh edition of the legendary and very successful Handbook of Neurosurgery by Mark S. Greenberg was released in 2010. Over the past two decades, this book has been established in the neurosurgical community as the must-have resource for residents and specialised neurosurgeons. From the very beginning, it was impressive how Mark S. Greenberg managed to cover and present so comprehensively the endless field of neurosurgery in a single source.

The content of the latest edition has been substantially revised and updated. Breakthrough knowledge and information on topics such as awake craniotomy, latest grading systems for spine injuries, and radiation exposure for neurosurgeons are included in this edition. A new feature called “booking the case” is very practical for physicians scheduling surgery. Moreover, the seventh edition has been embellished with numerous high quality color images that help the reader better understand its content.

The main drawback of the printed seventh edition was that it has become much bulkier, making the book not so easy to carry and harder to use compared to the previous editions. However, the good news is that the seventh edition is now available in electronic version, which can be downloaded and accessed through a mobile device. Therefore, its content, over 1,000 pages, can now be rapidly accessed on the go. Images and text can be enlarged, a feature that is very useful when readers need to focus on drawings and schemes. The electronic version of the Handbook of Neurosurgery also enables one to add notes throughout the text.

The Handbook of Neurosurgery by Mark S. Greenberg has been an invaluable book for every neurosurgeon. The recently released electronic version will, without any doubt, improve its usefulness as it continues to be the absolute resource for many neurosurgical topics. Mainly for practical reasons, the simultaneous release of the printed and electronic eight edition may be recommended.