Man and water. A history of hydro-technology

hazards of the market and slaughterhouse are of considerable interest. Although dealing with a specific livery company, this book also contributes importantly to the history of London and provides excellent background information for the historian of medicine concerned with city life in general. In view of the fact that water has played and continues to play a vital and essential role in man's existence, it is curious that little has been written on its history and humlan relationships. Dr. Smith, of Imperial College London, is an outstanding historian of technology who has already written the first books on the history of dams, and in this work traces the use of water and its attendant hydraulic problems from Antiquity to the present day: from ancient irrigation to hydroelectricity. As he points out, he is concerned".. . with society's fundamental need to master the basic problems of food production, the supply of potable water and the generation of power ... ." (p. xiii), and accordingly he divides his book into these three parts. In view of the immensity of the topic only a broad survey can be given, but sufficient material is supplied not only to provide this but also to indicate the many areas that need further investigation, amongst which are several of medical importance. Dr Smith has, therefore, produced a pioneer work containing a great deal of important information presented in a scholarly fashion, and at the same time he has opened up new areas for research. It deserves a wide audience, which it will no doubt achieve because, in addition to historians of technology, science, and medicine, this book will be of interest to hydro-technologists and public health workers. Palaeopathology as an independent discipline has developed rapidly in the last few years, thanks to the devoted efforts of individuals such as the author of this book. His work is an important contribution to the subject, and it deals with trauma and many varieties of disease occurring in osteo-archaeological material. It is profusely illustrated with 274 excellent photographs, drawings, and X-rays of specimens, and has full bibliographies, and comprehensive indexes. Of special interest are the sections which consider the effects of infectious diseases such as syphilis, leprosy, and tuberculosis, and of nutritional deficiencies on bones, where the author relates palaeopathological findings with clinical events. Here, however, he is less authoritative and has at times used literature that cannot be fully …