by John H. Noseworthy, MD, editor-in-chief, 4120 pp, with illus, $449.00, ISBN 1-85317-623-0, New York, NY, Martin Dunitz, Taylor and Francis Group, 2003.
Last winter, perhaps afflicted with holiday spirit(s), a complex fugue, or seizure, I accepted a call from the ARCHIVES section editor to review a publication with a title of several words that was read to me rather rapidly. I must confess that I was aware that it is a reference text and that I would be expected to keep it. I was not fully aware that the 2-main volumes, 28 × 22 cm, total more than 4000 pages, and weighs 19 lb; a supplementary smaller 563-page manual includes selected tables and figures. Furthermore, I am afflicted with a conflict of interest between conscience and calendar, personal friendship with the book’s editor-in-chief, and with several otherwise reputable authors of 271 chapters. The mathematical morbidity issue is pertinent. Were I honestly to read, recall, check references, and judge these 20.25 lb of intelligence, both the yellowing pages and reviewer would pass viability. So I decided to sample chapters related to my current consultation cases, plus special attention to subjects that have been my special hobbies. Closely read chapters were not selected randomly; my judgments may be true or false but never random.