"Although this edition of Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology contains much information derived from the four volumes of Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, it should not be considered an abridged version of the latter work"--P. 1.

Spirochetes -- Aerobic/microaerophilic, motile, helical/vibrioid gram-negative bacteria -- Nonmotile (or rarely motile), gram-negative curved bacteria -- Gram-negative aerobic/microaerophilic rods and cocci -- Facultatively anaerobic gram-negative rods -- Gram-negative, anaerobic, straight, curved, and helical bacteria -- Dissimilatory sulfate- or sulfur-reducing bacteria -- Anaerobic gram-negative cocci -- Rickettsias and chlamydias -- Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria -- Oxygenic phototrophic bacteria -- Aerobic chemolithotrophic bacteria and associated organisms -- Budding and/or appendaged bacteria -- Sheathed bacteria -- Nonphotosynthetic, nonfruiting gliding bacteria -- Fruiting, gliding bacteria: the myxobacteria -- Gram-positive cocci -- Endospore-forming gram-positive rods and cocci -- Regular, nonsporing gram-positive rods -- Irregular, nonsporing gram-positive rods -- Mycobacteria -- Actinomycetes -- Nocardioform actinomycetes -- Genera with multilocular sporangia -- Actinoplanetes -- Streptomycetes and related genera -- Maduromycetes -- Thermomonospora and related genera -- Thermoactinomycetes -- Other genera -- Mycoplasmas (or mollicutes): cell wall-less bacteria -- Methanogens -- Archaeal sulfate reducers -- Extremely halophilic, aerobic archaeobacteria (halobacteria) -- Cell wall-less archaeobacteria -- Extremely thermophilic and hyperthermophilic S¿¿¿-metabolizers.