This Vital and Health Statistics Monograph of the American Public Health Association has four divisions: "Infant and Perinatal Mortality," "Maternal Mortality," "Childhood Mortality," and "Health Services and Resources." In addition there are almost 100 pages of appendix tables. The first three divisions of the book contain sections on "Trends and Recent Status" and "Review and Perspectives."
The division entitled "Infant Perinatal Mortality" comprises more than half of the text. The authors begin by commenting on the leveling off of infant mortality rate. Yet Fig 1.1 depicts the rate per 1,000 live births on a log scale from 1915 to the present. This figure strikes the reviewer as about the straightest line ever obtained from birth and death certificates—a halving of infant mortality every 15 to 25 years. The association of factors such as age, race, geographical area, and sex upon death rates are discussed in detail. The effects of drugs,