This monograph on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) relaxation in plasmas by Ortolani and Schnack occupies a fascinating niche in the plasma physics literature. It is rare in the complex and often technically sophisticated subject of plasma physics to be able to isolate a topic and deal with it comprehensively in a mere 180 pages. Furthermore, it brings a refreshingly original and personal approach to the treatment of plasma relaxation, synthesizing the experiences of the two authors to produce a very readable account of phenomena appearing in such diverse situations as laboratory reversed field pinches (RFPs) and the solar corona. Its novelty lies in that, while it does acknowledge the seminal Taylor theory of relaxation as a general guide, it emphasizes the role of large scale numerical MHD simulations in developing a picture for the relaxation phenomena observed in experiment and nature. Nevertheless, the volume has some minor shortcomings: a tendency to repetitiveness and some omissions that prevent it being entirely self-contained.The monograph is divided into nine chapters, with the first a readable, `chatty', introduction to the physics and phenomena of relaxation discussed in the later chapters. Chapter 2 develops the tools for describing relaxation processes, namely the resistive MHD model, leading to a discussion of resistive instabilities and the stability properties of RFPs. This chapter demonstrates the authors' confessed desire to avoid mathematical detail with a rather simplified discussion of Δ' and magnetic islands; it also sets the stage for their own belief, or thesis, that numerical simulation of the non-linear consequences of the MHD model is the best approach to explaining the physics of relaxation. Nevertheless, in Chapter 3 they provide a reasonably good account and critique of one analytic approach that is available, and which is the commonly accepted picture for relaxation in pinches - the Taylor relaxation theory based on the conservation of global magnetic helicity.Some of the shortcomings of the Taylor theory in explaining details of real pinch experiments are used by the authors as a justification for a more phenomenological approach, described in detail in Chapter 4. They construct a `phenomenological model' that utilizes experimental information and linear stability properties; this is described authoritatively, since the authors have been very much involved in this work. The experimental evidence showing the presence of large scale instabilities in RFPs is used to provide support for the main thrust of the monograph, described in Chapter 5, namely that numerical computations of the non-linear evolution of MHD modes is the key to understanding the dynamical processes occurring in relaxation. These MHD processes give rise to a dynamo effect, analogous to that generating magnetic fields in the earth or stars, which overcomes the natural consequences of Spitzer resistivity and produces a reversed toroidal field. Chapter 5 begins with a general discussion of dynamo models and then moves on to the pioneering work of Sykes and Wesson on numerical simulation of relaxation, before launching into an authoritative account of more detailed and advanced simulations in which the authors themselves have played a major part. These calculations capture the basic features of relaxation in pinches and provide a demonstration of Taylor's theory.Chapters 6 and 7 describe some applications to RFPs of relaxation theory: the anomalous loop voltage, improving their performance by helicity injection, as well as sawteeth and thermal transport.The penultimate Chapter 8 proposes applications of this computational approach to relaxation, developed initially for laboratory pinches, to the solar corona. This is a stimulating discussion, drawing analogues between the two very different situations, ideal for broadening the perspectives of the fusion physicist. Specifically, the authors consider modelling of the evolution of active magnetic arcades, associated with sunspots, and coronal heating, both of which result from footprint motions in the photosphere.The volume is completed with a summary chapter, which ends by posing a number of outstanding questions and needs. Despite their thesis that numerical simulations are the key to understanding relaxation, the authors wisely indicate limitations to this approach, recognizing the need for an analytic theory, with more dynamical content than the Taylor theory, to support the simulations.In short, this is a readable, stimulating and reasonably self-contained volume that can be recommended to those interested in the dynamics of plasma relaxation or, indeed, to those with more general interests in the behaviour of plasmas in the laboratory or the sun.