Paul Bruthiaux, Dwight Atkinson, William G. Eggington, William Grabe and Vaidehi Ramanathan conducted their doctoral research at the University of Southern California in the 1980s and 1990s, with Robert B. Kaplan playing a significant role in their development as applied linguists. Now they have joined forces to co-edit a collection of essays and research papers that review current trends across the spectrum of applied linguistics and discuss their implications for the future the field.