With the advent of the much-decried change in British licensing laws at the end of 2005 comes this much-needed summary of the ‘Licensing Act 2003’, its implications for alcohol outlet licensing reform in England and Wales and a summary of strategies to support the development of ‘the night-time economy’ while maintaining public safety. This edited work, although doubtful summer reading at the weight of 1.85 kg. is a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in local alcohol licensing policies and the controversies attendant thereon. The chapters of this book reflect the legal and regulatory conflicts that surround licensing activities at the local level, snapping individual commercial and public interests into focus. It is a valuable read for anyone interested in the local regulatory maelstrom in which the implications of national alcohol policies are played out. National regulatory policies are put into effect in local communities, and it is within these communities that licensing and enforcement authorities attempt to ensure that these regulations are followed. Local implementation can fail because national policies are written poorly or local licensing and enforcement authorities are supported poorly in their efforts to protect public welfare. To observe the legal and regulatory processes by which one national policy grapples with these issues, there is no better educator than this text.

The ‘education’ provided, however, is of two kinds. Chapters of the work present solid summaries of the new licensing framework (chapters 1–7), types of licenses and conditions for licensing (chapters 8–18), summaries of several main policy issues (chapters 19–24 and 32), and discussions of issues in policing, noise abatement and regulation of sex establishments (chapters 25–33). I recommend the summaries provided by Kolvin (chapters 21 and 22) and Hadfield and colleagues (chapters 23 and 24) for instructive reviews with regard to alcohol use. These chapters ostensibly review the science-base of problems related to alcohol outlets but they are conceived very narrowly, covering a narrow slice of problems related to drinking at public establishments (primarily violence) to the exclusion of others (e.g. drinking and driving). Room provides some redress for this oversight and offers an excellent, although all too brief, summary of the international literature on alcohol control (chapter 32).

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