If ever there was an area requiring that the research-practice gap be bridged, surely it occurs where thanatologists engage with people dealing with human mortality and loss.  The field of thanatology - the study of death and dying - is a complex, multidisciplinary area that encompases the range of human experiences, emotions, expectations, and realities.  In the Handbook of Thanatology, The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) has compiled the most authoritative volume in the field, which provides for the first time a single source of up-to-date scholarship, research, and practice implications.  The Handbookis organized into seven parts, the first six of which correspond to the key areas of knowledge and training in this field: Dying; End-of-Life Decision Making; Loss, Grief and Mourning; Assessment and Intervention; Traumatic Death; Death Education. Within each of these six parts, a series of chapters explore central themes and issues: Culture/Socialization; Religion/Spirituality; Historical/Contemporary Perspectives; Life Span; Family/Systems; Ethical/Legal Issues.  The remaining two chapters of the final section - Part 7 - examine Professional Issues and Resources in Thanatology.