Pediatrics

Pediatrics

BOOK REVIEWS PEDIATRICS. Edited by Henry L. Barnett, M.D. London, Butterworths; New York, AppletonCentury-Crofts, 1968. $24.50, 1847 pages, illustrat...

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BOOK REVIEWS

PEDIATRICS. Edited by Henry L. Barnett, M.D. London, Butterworths; New York, AppletonCentury-Crofts, 1968. $24.50, 1847 pages, illustrated. This is a very large textbook of pediatrics of nearly two thousand pages. It is the fourteenth edition of Holt’s Pediatrics which has been the standard American textbook for over half a century. Edited by Dr. Barnett, who has collected a large number of outstanding contributors, every aspect of pediatrics is very adequately covered and in spite of its size the book is very much up to date. The pediatric surgical reader will be especially interested in the excellent chapters on surgical conditions contributed by such authorities as Dr. Ravitch, Dr. Santulli, and Dr. Hiatt. Although the editor hopes in the preface that the book may be of use to medical students, the size of the volume makes it primarily a reference book for postgraduates interested in pediatrics. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that there are not more illustrations in this excellent book but it is obvious that additional illustrations would not only have increased the price considerably but would also have made the very large volume quite unmanageable. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in the science and practice of pediatrics. --P. P. Rickham. PAEDIATRIC UROLOGY. Edited by D. Innes Williams. London, Butterworths, 1968. g8.10. Od, 585 pages, illustrated. It is nearly twenty years since the last textbooks on pediatric urology were published by Twistington Higgins in England and Campbell in the United States. The appearance of a new textbook on this subject is, therefore, both welcome and timely. The choice of Mr. D. I. Williams as editor of this book is most fortunate and the very high standard which we have come to expect from his writings has been more than maintained in the present volume. His choice of contributors: two pediatric urologists (D. I. Williams and J. H. Johns-

ton), two pediatric surgeons (J. E. S. Scott and H. B. Eckstein), two pediatricians (G. H. Newns and D. G. Cottom), one nephrologist (D. N. S. Kerr), and one radiologist (A. R. Chrispin) has been a happy one. During the last twenty years pediatric urology has developed so rapidly that there must have been a great temptation to write a very large book on this subject. This would have been unwieldy and very expensive and the editor is to be congratulated that he has concentrated the immense material and made each chapter as succinct as possible. The book is written for surgeons and basic surgical technics are not described. Illustrations have been kept to a minimum, which is regrettable but unavoidable if the volume of the book had to be restricted. This is not a textbook which can be glanced through quickly, but it is a mine of information. It is difficult and perhaps unfair to single out some of the chapters for special comment, but the chapter on vesicoureteric reflux by J. H. Johnston, the male bladder neck and urethra by D. I. Williams, glomerular disorders by D. N. S. Kerr, and abnormalities of sexual development by G. H. Newns and D. I. Williams are especially excellent. In recent years there has been some discussion on both sides of the Atlantic as to whether urologists or pediatric surgeons should carry out the urology of childhood. The answer should obviously be the man who can do it best. Whether it is a pediatric surgeon with special training in urology or a urologist who has had special training in pediatrics does not really matter, but whoever it is the man who wants to look after urologic conditions in childhood must be prepared to spend a large proportion of his clinical time in this pursuit. This book shows clearly that the conditions encountered are so numerous and often so complicated, that the surgical technic is so intricate and the pre- and post-operative care has to be so meticulous that anybody who wants to dabble occasionally in pediatric urology is well advised to leave these cases to those who are prepared to spend much of their time in the study of this fascinating subject.-P. P. Rickham.