Pulmonary Emphysema and Proteolysis

The book's only general defect is the uneven quality, which is probably inevitable when editors must wring finished manuscripts from a large number of contributors who have a variety of other pressing professional concerns. Some authors have simply described the current state of their own research, without troubling to add the two or three literature review paragraphs which establish the historical and related-area perspective necessary to a first rate reference work. An annoying specific detect is the inadequacy of the book's index, which is short and consists mostly of drugs names. Defects and all, the book is the best available on its subject, and it is better than many similar works on other subjects familiar to me. Such volumes are an important part of the process of continuing education in a world where daily medical practice in any speciality must be reoriented to new technologies every few years. J. W. PRICHARD Department of Neurology Yale University School of Medicine