For many years, this has been The Bible (or at least the New Testament to Fowler’s Old Testament) for beetle identification.

The book consists almost entirely of keys. In the main they are well thought out and work well. A second volume of line drawings can be consulted simultaneously. The "practical" in the title emphasises that the book is easy to use (and is perhaps a gentle dig at his old friend, Fowler.) Most species can be identified from their uppersides (specimens in beetle collections were conventionally glued to card) and generally with a x12 hand lens, although a binocular microscope with good lighting is infinitely preferable.

However, it is now an old work and the classification and nomenclature are well out of date and it’s not always straightforward to convert Joy’s names to their modern equivalents. Furthermore many species have been added since Joy’s time, so Hodge and Jones’ "New British Beetles: species not in Joy’s practical handbook" is invaluable here.

Nowadays the Practical Handbook is almost unobtainable. It was reprinted by Classey as a single volume, but these are also quite hard to find.

A digital form is available (searchable PDF) from Pisces Conservation.

The addenda, on p621, include changes to *Orchestes* (p206) and *Malachius* (p434).

"New British Beetles: species not in Joy’s practical handbook" by Hodge and Jones lists the additional species with references. They also give many hints and corrections to the keys.