The Heberden Society: histories, portraits and biographies

approach. Thus each chapter starts with a resume ofEuropean history, followed by a briefaccount ofthe social position ofsurgeons, and then a rather longer exposition of surgical skills and practice. The strength of this work is twofold. First, it is thoroughly researched and replete with detail that can be trusted to be accurate. Second, although dealing with the major surgical traditions since antiquity, the chapters are heavily weighted in favour of Dutch material. These sections are undoubtedly the best in the book. Here the author has room to be expansive and interpretative, whereas the matter presented elsewhere often seems more familiar. When handling Dutch surgery, de Moulin presents ledgers, diaries, and visual evidence which are the fruits ofhis own research. It is the traditional structure of the book which, unfortunately, lets it down in some ways. National, social and technical histories arejuxtaposed, but never interdigitate. No challenges are thrown out, or new questions posed. Similarly, there is an excellent bibliography but no critical bibliographical writing. In this regard it would be interesting to learn why the author omits to mention Owen and Sarah Wangansteen's splendid The rise of surgery, to which this volume forms such a valuable companion piece. Christopher Lawrence Wellcome Institute