On the cusp of the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the field of personality disorders is thriving and productive. This is certainly a time of major transition for the classification, study, and treatment of personality disorders, as the personality disorders section of the DSM is undergoing major revision, leaving researchers and clinicians to wonder whether their area of specialty in the field of personality disorders will be retained, deleted, or revised in DSM-5. In advance of DSM-5, The Oxford Handbook of Personality Disorders provides a summary of the latest information concerning the diagnosis, assessment, construct validity, etiology, pathology, and treatment of personality disorders. The text looks at personality disorders proposed for retention in DSM-5. It also investigates personality disorders that are slated for deletion. The book further examines issues concerning three disorders that have never obtained or had previously lost official recognition (i.e., passive-aggressive, depressive, and racist). The book also includes articles authored by members of the DSM-5 Personality Disorders Work Group, which succinctly outline and explain the proposals, as well as articles by authors who raise significant questions and concerns (often differing) about these proposals. The text includes special coverage of largely neglected areas of investigation (i.e. childhood antecedents of personality disorder, cross-cultural validity). The book finally looks into controversial areas for the DSM, such as schizotypal personality disorder, narcissism, depressive personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and dimensional classification.