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The present offering by a distinguished group of obstetricians from Australia and New Zealand is an eminently readable book on reproduction. In accord with the stated aim of the authors, the book provides greater depth of coverage than the standard texts of physiology. Nevertheless, the book falls short of what it could have, or should have, accomplished.
The weight of the book is impressive—its less than 800 pages weigh almost as much as the volume by Goodman and Gilman, which has more than twice as many larger pages. But its contents are often not nearly detailed or complete enough for a specialty textbook. Many important areas, such as the precise events at ovulation, nidation, and parturition, are covered only sketchily. While prostaglandins and oxytocin are mentioned on several occasions, nowhere is there a systematic discussion of either of these hormones. On the other hand, more than 10% of the