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The Handbook of Mental Retardation Syndromes is a 168-page book attempting to summarize all the etiological factors contributing to the problem of mental retardation. The last three chapters deal with problems not related to the etiology of mental retardation and are concerned with care for the mentally retarded, treatment for mental retardation syndromes, and screening tests available for the diagnosis of mental retardation. The preface informs the reader that this book had its origin from a text entitled "Medical Aspects of Mental Retardation" of which the author was also the editor. In the first sentence of the preface, the author describes the purpose of this manual. In the remainder of the preface he spends a great deal of time telling the reader what is not in the book. There are some serious mistakes in the use of the English language. As one example, the author says, "mental retardation is the