This book is based on over 40 years work in public health at a time of unprecedented change and challenge. The emphasis is on the practical aspects of working at different levels of action, very much ‘how to do it and how it was done’. As such it is a personal account. This period marked a new era in which the previous medical paradigm, dating from the mid-nineteenth century, was replaced by a broader, multidisciplinary approach, grounded in social science, the humanities, ecology, and public engagement with the politics of health once more coming into focus. The author uses case studies, storytelling, and real-life experience of establishing a new and revitalized public health system in the North West of England to bring the subject alive for a new generation of students and practitioners. Building on historic insights and timeless lessons from the Victorian and early-twentieth-century pioneers, he traces the evolution of the new thinking and its translation into action. The volume offers a rich menu of examples of responses to an array of new challenges ranging from new infections, such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola, to the lifestyle diseases of the new age, and the application of public health thinking to mental health and the problems of an ageing population. The external threats to health from the environment and as a result of man-made disasters and emergencies are extensively covered. The author brings a fresh approach to public health and the communication of public health issues. This work is accessible and stimulating, speaking to a wide range of audiences and sharing his passion for the subject.