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The eye and its diseases
746
AmericanJournalof Surgery
Book Reviews
stood better. More detaiI of case histories in the Iegends under the iIIustration wherever possibIe has been the ruIe. The chapter on the emergency prostrate patient, which deaIs more or Iess with the unconscious individua1 shouId prove of vaIue to the interne, genera1 practitioner and young surgeon. There is a tendency to insist that a textbook is mainIy of value to an interne or the young man just beginning surgery. It is our opinion that many middIe aged and past middIe aged men, and many more or Iess we11 known workers in the surgical fieId may spend no inconsiderabIe time with modern textbooks reIating to their sphere of work. Therefore, this volume being exceptionaIIy good, we suggest to medica teachers of surgery to hint to their students that they might do well, if possibIe, to own copies. There are 559 figures, a comprehensive BibIiography at the concIusion of each chapter, and an Index.
THE EYE ANDITS DISEASES.By 82 Internationa Authorities. Edited by Conrad Berens, M.D., Ophthalmic Surgeon, Pathologist and Director of Research, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; 1254 pages with 436 iIIustrations, some in coIors. PhiIadeIphia and London, W. B. Saunders Company, 1936. CIoth, Price $12.00 net. This textbook of ophthaImoIogy, edited by Dr. Berens, is an exceIIent, authoritative book and a vaIuabIe addition to the literature of the speciality. Dr. Berens feeIs that ophthaImoIogy, in view of the constant increase in our knowIedge of the eye, has reached the stage where it is beyond the power of one individua1 to write authoritativeIy on a11 its varied phases; and because of this the idea1 text shouId consist of the expert knowIedge of many ocuIists, each writing of the subject in which he is an acknowIedged authority. With this in mind, Dr. Berens has searched the United States, Canada, EngIand and the Continent for contributions to this book and requested opinions on their particuIar assignment from those he thinks best quaIified. WhiIe many wiI1 fee1 that this is carrying speciaIization in medicine too far, the resuIts in this book speak against such a conviction, because in the not too we11 supplied fieId of
JUNE. 1937
EngIish ophthaImoIogica1 textbooks, this is one of the best. The subject of ophthaImoIogy is covered very thoroughly beginning with anatomy and incIuding physioIogy, bacterioIogy, refraction, diseases of the eye and surgery; and there are aIso interesting chapters on hygiene, immunology, medica jurisprudence, pathoIogica1 and bacterioIogica1 technique. It is a great compliment to the editor that he has been able to obtain the coIIaboration of such we11 known names in ophthaImoIogy. There are some defects in the book, because, as wouId be expected, each individua1 contribution represents the opinionated concIusions of its author and because of human fraiIties, known and accepted modes of therapy are often compIeteIy disregarded or disparaged, and this of necessity is something which shouId not happen in a book which endeavors to cover adequateIy, authoritativeIy and compIeteIy the subject of ophthaImoIogy. In view of the genera1 exceIIence of the book it seems picayune to mention any such defects. As seems to happen in a11 textbooks, the authors are often reIuctant to omit beliefs which have become traditiona and are carried from text to text as a matter of habit, and we couId disperse with many of them. AIso accepted forms of medica and surgery therapy are often not mentioned or are IightIy dismissed as of no vaIue and those who acquire their ophthaImoIogica1 information from this book wil1 be ignorant of many definiteIy vaIuabIe therapeutic procedures. This shouId not be considered as a too severe condemnation of the book, for it is usuaIIy so good that one wouId Iike to see it even better. Despite the great number (82) of contributors, the editor has so arranged the subject matter and the varied styIes of writing, that one wouId suspect the book to be the work of one author. The arrangement of the subject matter, the iIIustrations and the type used, and the index are exceIIent. The book is recommended to ophthaImoIogists and those medica men who wish a book which brings ophthalmoIogy up to date with current knowIedge.
A TEXTBOOK OF SURGERY. By John Homans, M.D. CompiIed from lectures and other writings of members of the SurgicaI Department of the Harvard Medical SchooI. Fourth Edition. With a special
AmericanJournalof Surgery
Book Reviews
stood better. More detaiI of case histories in the Iegends under the iIIustration wherever possibIe has been the ruIe. The chapter on the emergency prostrate patient, which deaIs more or Iess with the unconscious individua1 shouId prove of vaIue to the interne, genera1 practitioner and young surgeon. There is a tendency to insist that a textbook is mainIy of value to an interne or the young man just beginning surgery. It is our opinion that many middIe aged and past middIe aged men, and many more or Iess we11 known workers in the surgical fieId may spend no inconsiderabIe time with modern textbooks reIating to their sphere of work. Therefore, this volume being exceptionaIIy good, we suggest to medica teachers of surgery to hint to their students that they might do well, if possibIe, to own copies. There are 559 figures, a comprehensive BibIiography at the concIusion of each chapter, and an Index.
THE EYE ANDITS DISEASES.By 82 Internationa Authorities. Edited by Conrad Berens, M.D., Ophthalmic Surgeon, Pathologist and Director of Research, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; 1254 pages with 436 iIIustrations, some in coIors. PhiIadeIphia and London, W. B. Saunders Company, 1936. CIoth, Price $12.00 net. This textbook of ophthaImoIogy, edited by Dr. Berens, is an exceIIent, authoritative book and a vaIuabIe addition to the literature of the speciality. Dr. Berens feeIs that ophthaImoIogy, in view of the constant increase in our knowIedge of the eye, has reached the stage where it is beyond the power of one individua1 to write authoritativeIy on a11 its varied phases; and because of this the idea1 text shouId consist of the expert knowIedge of many ocuIists, each writing of the subject in which he is an acknowIedged authority. With this in mind, Dr. Berens has searched the United States, Canada, EngIand and the Continent for contributions to this book and requested opinions on their particuIar assignment from those he thinks best quaIified. WhiIe many wiI1 fee1 that this is carrying speciaIization in medicine too far, the resuIts in this book speak against such a conviction, because in the not too we11 supplied fieId of
JUNE. 1937
EngIish ophthaImoIogica1 textbooks, this is one of the best. The subject of ophthaImoIogy is covered very thoroughly beginning with anatomy and incIuding physioIogy, bacterioIogy, refraction, diseases of the eye and surgery; and there are aIso interesting chapters on hygiene, immunology, medica jurisprudence, pathoIogica1 and bacterioIogica1 technique. It is a great compliment to the editor that he has been able to obtain the coIIaboration of such we11 known names in ophthaImoIogy. There are some defects in the book, because, as wouId be expected, each individua1 contribution represents the opinionated concIusions of its author and because of human fraiIties, known and accepted modes of therapy are often compIeteIy disregarded or disparaged, and this of necessity is something which shouId not happen in a book which endeavors to cover adequateIy, authoritativeIy and compIeteIy the subject of ophthaImoIogy. In view of the genera1 exceIIence of the book it seems picayune to mention any such defects. As seems to happen in a11 textbooks, the authors are often reIuctant to omit beliefs which have become traditiona and are carried from text to text as a matter of habit, and we couId disperse with many of them. AIso accepted forms of medica and surgery therapy are often not mentioned or are IightIy dismissed as of no vaIue and those who acquire their ophthaImoIogica1 information from this book wil1 be ignorant of many definiteIy vaIuabIe therapeutic procedures. This shouId not be considered as a too severe condemnation of the book, for it is usuaIIy so good that one wouId Iike to see it even better. Despite the great number (82) of contributors, the editor has so arranged the subject matter and the varied styIes of writing, that one wouId suspect the book to be the work of one author. The arrangement of the subject matter, the iIIustrations and the type used, and the index are exceIIent. The book is recommended to ophthaImoIogists and those medica men who wish a book which brings ophthalmoIogy up to date with current knowIedge.
A TEXTBOOK OF SURGERY. By John Homans, M.D. CompiIed from lectures and other writings of members of the SurgicaI Department of the Harvard Medical SchooI. Fourth Edition. With a special