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This is the second edition of a textbook of pediatrics for medical students in East Germany and will be of no interest for pediatricians in this country.
However, for those interested in international pediatrics and for some foreign readers a few comments may be of interest. This book, presumably a leading text in the German Democratic Republic, makes disappointing and uninspiring reading. It does cover the basics of pediatrics, but in many respects it must be considered inadequate. Although printed in 1966, almost none of the newer developments and directions in pediatrics have been incorporated into the 1,000-page text. There are plenty of tables and systematic classifications, helpful perhaps for examinations, but of limited practical value.
The diagnosis and management of such important disorders, eg, osteomyelitis, bacterial and tuberculous meningitis, or hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn are described rather vaguely and will not readily be converted into practical