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Key neurology and neurosurgery
82
Surg Neurol 1988;29:82
Book Reviews
Modern Neurosurgical Giants: Feet of Clay and E d i t e d by Paul C. B u c y , M . D . 2nd Edition. 459 pages. $69.25. N e w Y o r k : Elsevier, 1987.
Key Neurology and Neurosurgery. E d i t e d by Russell N . D e J o n g , R o b e r t D. C u r r i e r , and R o b e r t M. C r o w e l l . Chicago: Y e a r B o o k M e d i c a l Publishers.
It is a great pleasure to see a second edition (really a second printing) of Dr. Bucy's major contribution to the history of neurological surgery. This second edition is particularly welcomed because it is much more attractively bound and better produced than the first, with generally excellent reproductions of the photographs of the many pioneers in neurological surgery that are discussed. The book collects in one source a variety of historical vignettes that have been published in SuR GICAL NEUROLOGY, many of which contain information that was unavailable elsewhere. Each of these chapters dedicated to outstanding individuals have been prepared by someone with particular interest and expertise concerning the subject. Although the quality varies somewhat, most of the discussions are intriguing and full of insights with regard to the individuals upon whom our speciality has been based. In addition to the more or less biographical articles, there are some interesting historical analyses; for example, that of the controversy between Harvey Cushing and Walter Dandy, and the rather iconoclastic "Pepper Pot" analysis of Harvey Cushing and his less attractive side written by Percival Bailey. The neurosurgical giants include individuals not only from the United States but from the British Isles, Europe, the Soviet Union, Asia, and South America, thus giving a global picture of the development of the speciality. In addition to neurosurgeons, some associated neuroscientists and general surgeons are covered as well, once again broadening the outlook of those who might be interested in the evolution of neurosurgery as a specialty and as an area of clinical neuroscience. This book gives the student and the experienced neurosurgeon alike inspiration in reflecting upon the brilliance and courage of these pioneers in neurosurgery who, with little in the way of modern technical aids and in the midst of continuing development of knowledge regarding the nervous system, were able to concentrate their efforts in what must have been a discouraging field at the beginning, and through their efforts turned it into one of the most exciting areas of human endeavor.
This new publication was begun in 1986 and is issued as a quarterly in March, June, September, and December of each year. The publishers, Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc., have selected as editors Russell N. DeJong, University of Michigan School of Medicine; Robert D. Currier, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi; and Robert M. Crowell, Head of the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine at Chicago. Contributing editors include Armin F. Haerer, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Oscar Sugar, formerly Head of the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Illinois. This publication represents a genuine effort to report to busy neurologists and neurosurgeons the advances, important to their practice, that appear almost daily in medical journals. N o t all of those in practice have the opportunity to read journals regularly, and on some occasions, these journals tend to accumulate unread. With this in mind, these distinguished editors scan the literature and report the key points in these articles in short distillations. There is a complete citation to the original article, and a KEY symbol to indicate a specific "must read paper." There are occasional selected illustrations or tables; an editor's comments appear beside the article in the margins, and the address of the author for reprints is also included. There are also brief neurosurgical notes by Dr. Crowell which may be of interest. This effort reminds one of the magnificent publications that Walter Friedlander published entitled Concise Clinical Neurology Review. This review of journals of neurology as well as other journals was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness for some time. I have enjoyed reviewing the "second generation" of this effort, which is all too necessary for us now.
E D W A R D R. LAWS, Jr., M.D. Rochester, Minnesota
EBEN ALEXANDER, Jr., M.D., Editor
Iron.
Surg Neurol 1988;29:82
Book Reviews
Modern Neurosurgical Giants: Feet of Clay and E d i t e d by Paul C. B u c y , M . D . 2nd Edition. 459 pages. $69.25. N e w Y o r k : Elsevier, 1987.
Key Neurology and Neurosurgery. E d i t e d by Russell N . D e J o n g , R o b e r t D. C u r r i e r , and R o b e r t M. C r o w e l l . Chicago: Y e a r B o o k M e d i c a l Publishers.
It is a great pleasure to see a second edition (really a second printing) of Dr. Bucy's major contribution to the history of neurological surgery. This second edition is particularly welcomed because it is much more attractively bound and better produced than the first, with generally excellent reproductions of the photographs of the many pioneers in neurological surgery that are discussed. The book collects in one source a variety of historical vignettes that have been published in SuR GICAL NEUROLOGY, many of which contain information that was unavailable elsewhere. Each of these chapters dedicated to outstanding individuals have been prepared by someone with particular interest and expertise concerning the subject. Although the quality varies somewhat, most of the discussions are intriguing and full of insights with regard to the individuals upon whom our speciality has been based. In addition to the more or less biographical articles, there are some interesting historical analyses; for example, that of the controversy between Harvey Cushing and Walter Dandy, and the rather iconoclastic "Pepper Pot" analysis of Harvey Cushing and his less attractive side written by Percival Bailey. The neurosurgical giants include individuals not only from the United States but from the British Isles, Europe, the Soviet Union, Asia, and South America, thus giving a global picture of the development of the speciality. In addition to neurosurgeons, some associated neuroscientists and general surgeons are covered as well, once again broadening the outlook of those who might be interested in the evolution of neurosurgery as a specialty and as an area of clinical neuroscience. This book gives the student and the experienced neurosurgeon alike inspiration in reflecting upon the brilliance and courage of these pioneers in neurosurgery who, with little in the way of modern technical aids and in the midst of continuing development of knowledge regarding the nervous system, were able to concentrate their efforts in what must have been a discouraging field at the beginning, and through their efforts turned it into one of the most exciting areas of human endeavor.
This new publication was begun in 1986 and is issued as a quarterly in March, June, September, and December of each year. The publishers, Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc., have selected as editors Russell N. DeJong, University of Michigan School of Medicine; Robert D. Currier, Professor and Chairman, Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi; and Robert M. Crowell, Head of the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine at Chicago. Contributing editors include Armin F. Haerer, Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Oscar Sugar, formerly Head of the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Illinois. This publication represents a genuine effort to report to busy neurologists and neurosurgeons the advances, important to their practice, that appear almost daily in medical journals. N o t all of those in practice have the opportunity to read journals regularly, and on some occasions, these journals tend to accumulate unread. With this in mind, these distinguished editors scan the literature and report the key points in these articles in short distillations. There is a complete citation to the original article, and a KEY symbol to indicate a specific "must read paper." There are occasional selected illustrations or tables; an editor's comments appear beside the article in the margins, and the address of the author for reprints is also included. There are also brief neurosurgical notes by Dr. Crowell which may be of interest. This effort reminds one of the magnificent publications that Walter Friedlander published entitled Concise Clinical Neurology Review. This review of journals of neurology as well as other journals was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness for some time. I have enjoyed reviewing the "second generation" of this effort, which is all too necessary for us now.
E D W A R D R. LAWS, Jr., M.D. Rochester, Minnesota
EBEN ALEXANDER, Jr., M.D., Editor
Iron.