This book was originally conceived in 1987. It was then seen as a contribution towards improved management and policy-making in a diffuse and neglected area of NHS management. The focus of the book is the 'old' Community Health Services: those transferred to Area Health Authorities from local authorities in the 1974 re­ organization of the NHS. These diverse services, while grouped together, had little objectively in common, occupying, as they do, a hazy middle ground between hospital and Family Practitioner Services. However, since 1974 there have been a number of major devel­ opments which have opened opportunities for change and devel­ opment in these services. These include: the resurrection of concern with 'Public Health'; the attempted closure of large mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and the development of 'Com­ munity Care'; the introduction of General Management; and the implication for health and local authorities of the White Papers 'Caring for People', 'Promoting Better Health' and 'Working for Patients'. Traditionally, Community Health Services were seen as low status and a professional dead-end. This, in tum, has led to a rather uneven body of literature. The growth of general management has led to a demand for a more coherent, management-orientated literature. It is our hope that this book will encourage the production of more literature in this area.