Sleep Apnea Syndromes. Kroc Foundation Series, Vol. 11

approach which collates material that would otherwise be scattered into a variety of general, gastroenterology, and psychology journals. Journalistic editors might also have been less tolerant of the text's prosaic expressions, by no means limited to the "short lived segments of deathless prose" with which each small section is introduced. However, for this reader, far from detracting from the book's value, the tenor of presentation turns a serious work that would in any event be a useful reference text into thoroughly entertaining and sometimes downright funny reading. As well as its immediate informational value, the book provides a fine account of the scientific method and its close ally, serendipity, at work. Historical tidbits such as a rare picture of Nikolai Eck and a tribute to Franz Ingelfinger for predicting on theoretical grounds the usefulness of lactulose in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy also add interest. The book is recommended not for just a life on the shelf of occasional reference consultation but to be within easy reach of the armchair when relaxation can be augmented by an entertaining learning experience.