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General immunology
Immunology 7"o@, vol. 3, No. 11, 1982
314
General Immunology by Edwin L. Cooper, Pergamon Press Ltd, 7982. £12,00/$2d.00 (xiii + 3d3 pages) ISBN 0 08 026368 2 (hard cooer) ISBN 0 08 026369 0 (flexi-cooer) This text-book of immunology is certainly one of the five top books in this field, and has two special commending features. The first is that it is written by one author so that there is consistency, and secondly it is directed at students who are learning immunology as a component of biology. For this reason it can be particularly recommended to students who are taking immunology as part of a general course in biological sciences, and it may also appeal to other students of immunology who wish to see how general biology and immunology are related. The four other text-books of immunology for undergraduates are directed to different audiences. The
Basic Immunology by W. M. G. Amos, Butterworths, 1981. £d.95(viii+ 188pages) ISBNOdOgO01786. Immunology is now being taught to students at all levels, and there is a concomitant need for texts which introduce the subject in an appealing and appropriate style. In the words of the author this book is 'an attempt to convey the fundamental principles of immunology to those with a working knowledge of biology'. It is aimed at those studying immunology at university or polytechnic courses, and especially those following courses for the various Special Examinations of the institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences, for which the author is the Chief Examiner. It is thus necessary to ask how well the author has addressed the needs of his intended readership. The book consists of 15 chapters, eight of which cover basic immunology and six of which cover aspects of applied immunology. These are linked by a further chapter on immunological techniques. In terms of content it follows the more general aspects of the syllabus of the FIMLS examinations, and would therefore seem to meet the requirements of these students. The opening chapters cover historical aspects, the evolution of the immune system and innate
cheap text-books by Roitt and Turk are directed to medical audiences, whereas those by Fudenberg and colleagues and MeConnell and colleagues have a more pronounced academic bent. So it can be seen that a gap has existed tor a text-book directed at biology students and this book would appear to fill it excellently. The book is divided into eight sections: introduction, foreignness, how the immune system developed, cells of the immune system, defence and immunity, antigens, antibodies and immunoglobulins, organs of the immune system, and how the immune system evolved. The sections which I enjoyed reading most were tltose concerned with immune responses in species other than man and a great deal of detail is provided about this. For a pure immunologist much of the descriptions of the biochemistry and genetics of immunoglobulins will be found to be rather elementary and un-
fortunately the reference lists are rather out of date. It is unfortunate too that the references refer to reviews rather than to seminal papers as these inspire as well as inform. The book is nicely produced and has some excellent line drawings, and students will find it well laid out and easy to refer to. My only coraplaint is that there is some redundancy of common and generic names and associated irrelevant statements about them. However, it was pleasant to see the personality of the writer coming through in the initial chapters and summary statements, which brighten up this enormous collection of information about the immune system in the phylum Chordata, in which man is only one amongst thousands. c. j. v. SPRY
immunity and form a good basis for introducing terms and concepts in immunology. These are followed by three comprehensive sections on the structure, synthesis and function of antibodies. The subsequent section, entitled 'The immune response', focuses on the role of cells in production of antibodies. It is not until Chapter 8, ' T Iymphocytes and the major histocompatibility system', that T lymphocytes are discussed in their own right as effectors of an immune response. This positioning may perhaps create an unfortunate bias in the mind of the reader, especially since cellular immunity plays a significant role in the applied section of the book. The chapter on immunological techniques deals competently with essential methods. No pretence is made that this is comprehensive, and students for FIMLS courses will certainly need and wish to range outside the limited details provided. However, the chapter is up to date and illustrative. The remainder of the book on applied immunology consists of easily digested outlines of microbial immunology, imm u n i z a t i o n , i m m u n e deficiency, hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, transplantation and tumour immunology. Whilst the content of the book seems appropriate, I am less happy
about the style in which it is written and presented. Summaries are found at the end of some chapters which largely consist of the author's opinions and comments. These are thought provoking although not particularly useful as summaries of key concepts, a n d students may have wished for more factual accounts. The drawings, whilst beautifully executed, seem unnecessarily complex and may as a result prove intimidating. The chatty style in which the book is written 1 frankly found irritating although I concede it may make it more readable and therefore appealing. Throughout the book the author has chosen to describe immunology within the context of historical perspectives, social implications and general biology and this may also make it more attractive and lighter to read. As the publishers note on the back cover 'few readers will fail to appreciate the author's experience and enthusiasm'. With this I would concur and if the style appeals then 'Basic Immunology' is a primer which should be useful to those beginning to take an interest in immunology at university or polytechnic.
Christopher Spu is in the Department of Immunology, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London WI2 0HS, U.K.
ANNES.
HAMBLIN
A. S. Hamblin is lecturer in immunology at St. Thomas" Hospital Medical School, London SEt 7EH, U.~f.
314
General Immunology by Edwin L. Cooper, Pergamon Press Ltd, 7982. £12,00/$2d.00 (xiii + 3d3 pages) ISBN 0 08 026368 2 (hard cooer) ISBN 0 08 026369 0 (flexi-cooer) This text-book of immunology is certainly one of the five top books in this field, and has two special commending features. The first is that it is written by one author so that there is consistency, and secondly it is directed at students who are learning immunology as a component of biology. For this reason it can be particularly recommended to students who are taking immunology as part of a general course in biological sciences, and it may also appeal to other students of immunology who wish to see how general biology and immunology are related. The four other text-books of immunology for undergraduates are directed to different audiences. The
Basic Immunology by W. M. G. Amos, Butterworths, 1981. £d.95(viii+ 188pages) ISBNOdOgO01786. Immunology is now being taught to students at all levels, and there is a concomitant need for texts which introduce the subject in an appealing and appropriate style. In the words of the author this book is 'an attempt to convey the fundamental principles of immunology to those with a working knowledge of biology'. It is aimed at those studying immunology at university or polytechnic courses, and especially those following courses for the various Special Examinations of the institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences, for which the author is the Chief Examiner. It is thus necessary to ask how well the author has addressed the needs of his intended readership. The book consists of 15 chapters, eight of which cover basic immunology and six of which cover aspects of applied immunology. These are linked by a further chapter on immunological techniques. In terms of content it follows the more general aspects of the syllabus of the FIMLS examinations, and would therefore seem to meet the requirements of these students. The opening chapters cover historical aspects, the evolution of the immune system and innate
cheap text-books by Roitt and Turk are directed to medical audiences, whereas those by Fudenberg and colleagues and MeConnell and colleagues have a more pronounced academic bent. So it can be seen that a gap has existed tor a text-book directed at biology students and this book would appear to fill it excellently. The book is divided into eight sections: introduction, foreignness, how the immune system developed, cells of the immune system, defence and immunity, antigens, antibodies and immunoglobulins, organs of the immune system, and how the immune system evolved. The sections which I enjoyed reading most were tltose concerned with immune responses in species other than man and a great deal of detail is provided about this. For a pure immunologist much of the descriptions of the biochemistry and genetics of immunoglobulins will be found to be rather elementary and un-
fortunately the reference lists are rather out of date. It is unfortunate too that the references refer to reviews rather than to seminal papers as these inspire as well as inform. The book is nicely produced and has some excellent line drawings, and students will find it well laid out and easy to refer to. My only coraplaint is that there is some redundancy of common and generic names and associated irrelevant statements about them. However, it was pleasant to see the personality of the writer coming through in the initial chapters and summary statements, which brighten up this enormous collection of information about the immune system in the phylum Chordata, in which man is only one amongst thousands. c. j. v. SPRY
immunity and form a good basis for introducing terms and concepts in immunology. These are followed by three comprehensive sections on the structure, synthesis and function of antibodies. The subsequent section, entitled 'The immune response', focuses on the role of cells in production of antibodies. It is not until Chapter 8, ' T Iymphocytes and the major histocompatibility system', that T lymphocytes are discussed in their own right as effectors of an immune response. This positioning may perhaps create an unfortunate bias in the mind of the reader, especially since cellular immunity plays a significant role in the applied section of the book. The chapter on immunological techniques deals competently with essential methods. No pretence is made that this is comprehensive, and students for FIMLS courses will certainly need and wish to range outside the limited details provided. However, the chapter is up to date and illustrative. The remainder of the book on applied immunology consists of easily digested outlines of microbial immunology, imm u n i z a t i o n , i m m u n e deficiency, hypersensitivity and autoimmunity, transplantation and tumour immunology. Whilst the content of the book seems appropriate, I am less happy
about the style in which it is written and presented. Summaries are found at the end of some chapters which largely consist of the author's opinions and comments. These are thought provoking although not particularly useful as summaries of key concepts, a n d students may have wished for more factual accounts. The drawings, whilst beautifully executed, seem unnecessarily complex and may as a result prove intimidating. The chatty style in which the book is written 1 frankly found irritating although I concede it may make it more readable and therefore appealing. Throughout the book the author has chosen to describe immunology within the context of historical perspectives, social implications and general biology and this may also make it more attractive and lighter to read. As the publishers note on the back cover 'few readers will fail to appreciate the author's experience and enthusiasm'. With this I would concur and if the style appeals then 'Basic Immunology' is a primer which should be useful to those beginning to take an interest in immunology at university or polytechnic.
Christopher Spu is in the Department of Immunology, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London WI2 0HS, U.K.
ANNES.
HAMBLIN
A. S. Hamblin is lecturer in immunology at St. Thomas" Hospital Medical School, London SEt 7EH, U.~f.