The proliferation of automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) during the past 20 years has arguably been the greatest boon to criminal investigation thus far devised. However, as the author notes during the introduction, very little has been written specifically about these systems other than brief, often overly simplified, references in texts devoted to the more general area of fingerprints. This glaring omission has been thankfully remedied by one of the most comprehensive and enlightening explanations of a fascinating process imaginable, and done so with a marvelously cohesive and highly readable style. One's only regret is that this book had not been written a decade or more ago and offered as a newly revised edition.