Selected papers of Gordon Holmes

the subjective perception of neurological deficit; and with the disorders of vision. Thus, one essay examines sociological aspects of aphasia, another the detection of minimal dysphasia, and others the evolution and possible future of language. His exploration of the relationship between the language of schizophrenics and that of aphasics is particularly fascinating. Other essays deal with misoplegia (the hatred of hemiplegia), corporeal awareness, central blindness, and photisms in the blind. Two rather playful contributions look at man's attitude towards his nose and at tattooing in both sexes. Many of the above essays contain historical material, but they are interspersed with others which are overtly historical. In the latter category may be counted Critchley's witty history of neurology at King's College Hospital; his study of five illustrious neuroluetics (Heinrich Heine, Jules de Goncourt, Alphonse Daudet, Guy de Maupassant, and Dan Leno); and his reflections on phrenology and on the Broca-Dax controversy. The penetrating essay on Sir Gordon Holmes draws on Critchley's intimate knowledge of Holmes; taken in conjunction with his remarks on A. S. Kinnier Wilson in the King's College Hospital essay, it sketches a framework for understanding British neurology during the inter-war years. Critchley's principal excursion into art history is contained in his observations on self-portraiture, and his love of English and French literature is reflected on many pages of the volume. His Harveian Oration gives the present volume its title. Dr. Critchley is always a pleasure to read, and the book is well produced and illustrated. It is a shame that the publishers saw fit to omit the footnotes; even the references to the original appearance of the essays fail to quote page numbers. This is particularly to be lamented since he quotes so liberally from a wealth of sources medical, historical, and literary. What, for instance, is the T. E. Dunville (1910) source where Dr. Critchley found the motto for his essay on tattooing: Small adv. Personal. Tattooed lady wishes to meet gentleman with similar views? W. F. Bynum Wellcome Institute