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Sir Walter Scott: The Wounded Falcon
BOOK REVIEWS
203
Sir Walter Scott: The IVoundedFalcon By SIR ARTHUR MACNaL'r¥. Johnson London, 1969: pp. 189: 35s. SHOt~a'LYB~.mRE his death in 1969, the eminent medical historian, Sir Arthur MacNalty completed this medical biography of SirWalter Scott. Scott had poliomyelitis in infancy, recurrent gall stone colic and also renal colic in later life and suffered several cerebral thromboses in the two years before his death at the age of 61 in 1832. Not only did he have to contend with illness} bat also with considerable financial worry as a consequence of the flailure of the !publishing firm with which he was associated. Sir Arthur MacNatty gives a vivid description o f the stress that Scott underwent in working, incessantly to pay off his debt and how he achieved his ambition to become a "border laird". The book wilDoe enjoyed by all readers of Scott; it is essential reading for intending visitor-a to Abbotsford and the "border country".
The Epilepsies: 41o&'rn Diagnosis and Treatment. By JOHN M. SUTIIERLAND and HOWARD TArt. Livingstone, Edinburgh. pp. 128: 25s. FOLLOWING rl-ff'-"REC/Z.NTpublication by the Department of Health and Social Security of the Report entitled Peoph, with Epilepsy M.O.sH. will be reviewing locally the Health and Welfare Services for these people. In carrying out this task they will find this little book by two authors from the University of Queensland most valuable in bringing up to date their medical knowledge of epilepsy. The book is very clearly set out with excellent summaries at the end of each chapter. There is a particularly useful diagram summarizing the manifestations of symptomatic cortical epilepsy and many excellent photographs, including a series of a boy during a petit mai seizure. The chapter on anti-convulsant drug therapy is a succint account of" modern drugs which the non-clinical doctor will find extremely usef~al. The book can be thoroughly recommended for all those concerned in the community care of people with epilepsy. W.H.O. Technical Report Series Nor 43!--Toxoplasmosis (Report o f a W.H.O. Meeting of Investigators) 1969, pp. 31 : 6s. IN A f.'OMPREHENSt'~,'Ereport of a meeting of investigators of toxoplasmosis the authors have produced a helpful and interesting survey of work on a disease likely to increase in relative importance as other diseases coine :finder control. The report covers the distribution, host specificity, morphology and life-history of ToxopIasma gondii together with the clinical manifestations, epidemiology and treatment o f the disease this parasite causes. The original text should be consulted for epidemi01ogical details Infection with .7".gondiiis shown to confer some immunity, ] n no case has a woman produced infected children in two successive pregnancies It reiterates the findings that toxoplasmosis as a disease is rare but infection relatively common There is no evidence o f human to hum~an transfer except in the context of pregnancy. There is an interesting discussion on recent work on resistant cyst forms of the parasite in infected faeces, Methods of diagnosis, chiefly serological, are discussed. The ~.~seof the skin test:isl described, but it is pointed out that this material is not yet standardized adequately. Most human casesare asyoptomatic and therefore need no treatment. The indications for chemotherapy are mainly" in ocular lesions where blindness threatens. Thus the report is a ~'aluable summary of recent work on the subject.
203
Sir Walter Scott: The IVoundedFalcon By SIR ARTHUR MACNaL'r¥. Johnson London, 1969: pp. 189: 35s. SHOt~a'LYB~.mRE his death in 1969, the eminent medical historian, Sir Arthur MacNalty completed this medical biography of SirWalter Scott. Scott had poliomyelitis in infancy, recurrent gall stone colic and also renal colic in later life and suffered several cerebral thromboses in the two years before his death at the age of 61 in 1832. Not only did he have to contend with illness} bat also with considerable financial worry as a consequence of the flailure of the !publishing firm with which he was associated. Sir Arthur MacNatty gives a vivid description o f the stress that Scott underwent in working, incessantly to pay off his debt and how he achieved his ambition to become a "border laird". The book wilDoe enjoyed by all readers of Scott; it is essential reading for intending visitor-a to Abbotsford and the "border country".
The Epilepsies: 41o&'rn Diagnosis and Treatment. By JOHN M. SUTIIERLAND and HOWARD TArt. Livingstone, Edinburgh. pp. 128: 25s. FOLLOWING rl-ff'-"REC/Z.NTpublication by the Department of Health and Social Security of the Report entitled Peoph, with Epilepsy M.O.sH. will be reviewing locally the Health and Welfare Services for these people. In carrying out this task they will find this little book by two authors from the University of Queensland most valuable in bringing up to date their medical knowledge of epilepsy. The book is very clearly set out with excellent summaries at the end of each chapter. There is a particularly useful diagram summarizing the manifestations of symptomatic cortical epilepsy and many excellent photographs, including a series of a boy during a petit mai seizure. The chapter on anti-convulsant drug therapy is a succint account of" modern drugs which the non-clinical doctor will find extremely usef~al. The book can be thoroughly recommended for all those concerned in the community care of people with epilepsy. W.H.O. Technical Report Series Nor 43!--Toxoplasmosis (Report o f a W.H.O. Meeting of Investigators) 1969, pp. 31 : 6s. IN A f.'OMPREHENSt'~,'Ereport of a meeting of investigators of toxoplasmosis the authors have produced a helpful and interesting survey of work on a disease likely to increase in relative importance as other diseases coine :finder control. The report covers the distribution, host specificity, morphology and life-history of ToxopIasma gondii together with the clinical manifestations, epidemiology and treatment o f the disease this parasite causes. The original text should be consulted for epidemi01ogical details Infection with .7".gondiiis shown to confer some immunity, ] n no case has a woman produced infected children in two successive pregnancies It reiterates the findings that toxoplasmosis as a disease is rare but infection relatively common There is no evidence o f human to hum~an transfer except in the context of pregnancy. There is an interesting discussion on recent work on resistant cyst forms of the parasite in infected faeces, Methods of diagnosis, chiefly serological, are discussed. The ~.~seof the skin test:isl described, but it is pointed out that this material is not yet standardized adequately. Most human casesare asyoptomatic and therefore need no treatment. The indications for chemotherapy are mainly" in ocular lesions where blindness threatens. Thus the report is a ~'aluable summary of recent work on the subject.