Eight American specialists in reading and writing disorders contribute nine chapters to this textbook. All chapters have been revised to reflect changes since publication of the 1999 edition, some considerably. Highlights of the second edition include the latest research on subgroups of reading disabilities, the relationship between language and reading disabilities, developmental changes in reading disabilities, and reading, writing, and spelling development. Also included is specific information on improving decoding and word attack skills; new information about IRIs and other procedures to assess comprehension abilities; and new information about spelling in the chapters on writing. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com).