David J. Hunter is Professor of Health Policy and Management at Durham University. He is Director of the Centre for Public Policy and Health, School of Medicine and Health and a Wolfson Fellow in the Wolfson Research Institute. He has extensive research experience in health systems and public health and has published widely on these subjects. His last book, The Health Debate, was published by The Policy Press in September 2008. Linda Marks is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy and Health, School of Medicine and Health, Durham University and a Wolfson Fellow in the Wolfson Research Institute. She has previously held posts at the King's Fund as Fellow in Health Policy Analysis and in the NHS as a Non Executive Director of a Primary Care Trust. Research interests include health policy, health inequalities and public health governance.Katherine E. Smith is a Research Fellow in Applied Policy Research in the School for Health at the University of Bath. She was previously a Research Fellow in the Centre for Public Policy and Health at Durham University. Her research interests include: the relationship between public health research and policy, corporate policy influence in Europe (and its public health consequences), and health inequalities in the UK.

"...I have found this to be an enjoyable, informative and thought provoking read that I recommend to anyone for an introduction to the English public health system and how it has developed since 1974." David Edwards in Public Health Today

• Introduction; Public health and a public health system; The evolution of the public health function in England (1) 1974-97; The evolution of the public health function in England (2) 1997-2009; Current issues in the public health system in England; Looking to the future.