I want to thank all who contributed to this first edition for their hard work and professionalism, and especially for their patience. I hope the readers will find this volume as helpful as I have found it. There is no doubt that the family of proteins we call the tubulins and the microtubules that they form when they aggregate are extremely important in the cell and, as we are increasingly learning, important in diseases that afflict so many. This field of investi- tion is a testament to how important both basic and clinical sciences are in understanding disease mechanisms and making inroads...