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Paediatric cardiology
482
March, 1969 The Journal o[ P E D I A T R I C S
Books
Book reviews P a e d i a t r i e cardiology. E d i t e d b y H a m i s h Watson, M . D . , St. Louis, 1968, T h e C. V. M o s b y C o m p a n y , 996 pages. $36.50. The field of pediatric cardiology, formerly dominated by only three textbooks, has recently become enriched by the addition of several more. This volume is a major addition to the field; it has been compiled by Dr. Watson from the contributions of many experts on both sides of the Atlantic. All aspects of pediatric cardiology are covered, from embryology to the associated social and emotional problems. In addition to congenital heart disease, acquired heart disease and cardiac problems complicating other illnesses are discussed in some detail. An extensive bibliography is placed at the end of each chapter. The book is well illustrated and well written. As indicated in the foreword by Dr. Helen Taussig and in the preface by the author, it has obviously been edited and not just compiled. As with all textbooks, some very new information is not included. For example, cardiac transplantation is not mentioned, and it is stated that ethacrynic acid is not yet commercially available in the United States. However, most of the information and references are as current as is possible in a text. Because of its size, cost, and the detailed nature of its contents, the book would probably be of more value to the pediatric cardiologist than to the general pediatrician. However, despite the number of competing textbooks currently available, this appears to be an excellent addition to the library of any physician interested in the subject of pediatric cardiology. JOSEPH M. OARFUNKEL, M.D. HARRISBURG POLYCLINIC HOSPITAL HARRISBURO~ PA.
T h e biologic basis of p e d i a t r i c p r a c t i c e E d i t e d by R o b e r t E. Cooke, with 163 contributors, N e w York, 1968, T h e Blakiston D i v i s i o n / M c G r a w - H i l l Book Co., 1,739
Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 482-484
pages. $24.50 (as one volume) or $99.50 (as two volumes). In the past 10 to 20 years there has been the proliferation of a breed of academic pediatricians who have one foot rather solidly planted in a basic science discipline and the other foot equally solidly planted in some necessarily narrow area of clinical pediatrics. Such hybrid individuals are of course not new to pediatrics, but for a variety of reasons their numbers have vastly increased over the past 20 years. The influence which these pediatric scientists or scientific pediatricians have had on modern pediatrics is very great indeed, since by their own work they have pointed out the heavy and direct involvement of clinical pediatrics with the so-called basic sciences. The fundatmental raison d'&re of this new textbook of pediatrics is to codify the multiple interrelationships between pediatrics and the basic sciences upon which it so heavily depends. It presents an image of the modern pediatrician as a scientist who requires a working knowledge of genetics, embryology, biochemistry, physiology, and/or psychology to solve his clinical problems. To this end, Dr. Cooke, who has contributed greatly to the development of many contemporary hybrid pediatric scientists, has assembled a voluminous work to which 163 authors, both within and without pediatrics, have contributed their expertise under the aegis of a distinguished editorial board. The fundamental aim of the book is certainly commendable, although in 1968 it is hardly novel simply because the success of the cross-fertilization of clinical pediatrics with the relevant basic sciences has been so great that few pediatricians could escape the view that basic science is here to stay. The question then is not whether this approach is sound in theory, but how well it can be achieved within the limitations of a textbook. There can be no simple answer to this question, since no single reviewer can adequately address himself critically to all or even an appreciable fraction of the subject matter
March, 1969 The Journal o[ P E D I A T R I C S
Books
Book reviews P a e d i a t r i e cardiology. E d i t e d b y H a m i s h Watson, M . D . , St. Louis, 1968, T h e C. V. M o s b y C o m p a n y , 996 pages. $36.50. The field of pediatric cardiology, formerly dominated by only three textbooks, has recently become enriched by the addition of several more. This volume is a major addition to the field; it has been compiled by Dr. Watson from the contributions of many experts on both sides of the Atlantic. All aspects of pediatric cardiology are covered, from embryology to the associated social and emotional problems. In addition to congenital heart disease, acquired heart disease and cardiac problems complicating other illnesses are discussed in some detail. An extensive bibliography is placed at the end of each chapter. The book is well illustrated and well written. As indicated in the foreword by Dr. Helen Taussig and in the preface by the author, it has obviously been edited and not just compiled. As with all textbooks, some very new information is not included. For example, cardiac transplantation is not mentioned, and it is stated that ethacrynic acid is not yet commercially available in the United States. However, most of the information and references are as current as is possible in a text. Because of its size, cost, and the detailed nature of its contents, the book would probably be of more value to the pediatric cardiologist than to the general pediatrician. However, despite the number of competing textbooks currently available, this appears to be an excellent addition to the library of any physician interested in the subject of pediatric cardiology. JOSEPH M. OARFUNKEL, M.D. HARRISBURG POLYCLINIC HOSPITAL HARRISBURO~ PA.
T h e biologic basis of p e d i a t r i c p r a c t i c e E d i t e d by R o b e r t E. Cooke, with 163 contributors, N e w York, 1968, T h e Blakiston D i v i s i o n / M c G r a w - H i l l Book Co., 1,739
Vol. 74, No. 3, pp. 482-484
pages. $24.50 (as one volume) or $99.50 (as two volumes). In the past 10 to 20 years there has been the proliferation of a breed of academic pediatricians who have one foot rather solidly planted in a basic science discipline and the other foot equally solidly planted in some necessarily narrow area of clinical pediatrics. Such hybrid individuals are of course not new to pediatrics, but for a variety of reasons their numbers have vastly increased over the past 20 years. The influence which these pediatric scientists or scientific pediatricians have had on modern pediatrics is very great indeed, since by their own work they have pointed out the heavy and direct involvement of clinical pediatrics with the so-called basic sciences. The fundatmental raison d'&re of this new textbook of pediatrics is to codify the multiple interrelationships between pediatrics and the basic sciences upon which it so heavily depends. It presents an image of the modern pediatrician as a scientist who requires a working knowledge of genetics, embryology, biochemistry, physiology, and/or psychology to solve his clinical problems. To this end, Dr. Cooke, who has contributed greatly to the development of many contemporary hybrid pediatric scientists, has assembled a voluminous work to which 163 authors, both within and without pediatrics, have contributed their expertise under the aegis of a distinguished editorial board. The fundamental aim of the book is certainly commendable, although in 1968 it is hardly novel simply because the success of the cross-fertilization of clinical pediatrics with the relevant basic sciences has been so great that few pediatricians could escape the view that basic science is here to stay. The question then is not whether this approach is sound in theory, but how well it can be achieved within the limitations of a textbook. There can be no simple answer to this question, since no single reviewer can adequately address himself critically to all or even an appreciable fraction of the subject matter