The preface states that the work aims to be a “showcase of ‘world zooarchaeology’”(vii). As a result it is structured geographically. This approach also separates it from other Oxford handbooks, which are typically arranged thematically. The volume contains 47 chapters, organized into an introduction and six regional sections (authors and titles are listed at the end of this review). The section on Europe is the largest with 14 contributions. Asia, Africa, and North America are each represented by 8 chapters. Four chapters are dedicated to South America; Oceania is covered by the same number. In the preface, Albarella explains that authors were allowed total freedom in terms of themes and structure, in order that different approaches and research traditions be represented. The result is an extremely diverse journey through zooarchaeology today. The chronological span of the volume stretches from the Pleistocene to the Early Modern period, and the timeframe and study area considered by individual chapters is extremely diverse. Some authors focus on a particular region and time period, like Medieval Ireland (McCormick and Murray) or Neolithic China (Liu and Ma). Others consider animal exploitation in a particular area over the longue durée, e.g. aquatic resources in Holocene West Africa (Linseele). The range of themes is also extremely mixed due to the various interests and research traditions of the authors, with contributions on topics as varied as human eco-dynamics (Allen), trade in the historic period (Lapham), animals in urban life (O’Connor), and domestication (Hongo). The majority of chapters focus on mammal remains, but each regional section also contains at least one significant contribution on fish or aquatic resources. Many of the papers combine evidence from different classes of animal remains.