Disorders of Blood and Blood-Forming Organs in Childhood.

This lengthy textbook represents an extensive survey of pediatric blood disorders with careful bibliographical listings for each section. Although the latest references in these listings are from 1960, many more recent contributions are referred to in footnotes to the text material. The text material itself, however, is frequently disappointing. Too much space is given to historical developments and an uncritical listing of references and too little space to the detailed clinical and laboratory descriptions of diseases to be expected in a volume of this size and expense. As an example, only five pages are given over to a discussion of acute leukemia, and the central nervous system manifestations are handled in a paragraph. There is no help for the practitioner who wishes to know the variety of symptoms, signs, or spinal fluid findings in this complication and no mention of intrathecal methotrexate therapy. Within this paragraph, however, are listed nine