Retro-review of flow injection analysis

It is indeed unusual for authors to review their own monograph – J. Ruzicka, E.H. Hansen, Flow Injection Analysis, 2nd Edition, Wiley, Chichester, West Sussex, UK, 1988. – and even more so if the book was published 20 years ago. Yet such an exercise might yield a perspective on the progress of analytical instrumentation in general and on the development of flow-injection analysis (FIA) techniques in particular. By reviewing what was written and proposed 20 years ago, it is interesting to observe what proved to be of lasting value, what became accepted, and, above all, what we missed and failed to anticipate.