In other areas, perhaps reflecting my own more superficial knowledge, I found less to argue with. But I do think in a book aiming to highlight topics which will feature in the MRCP examination, more than a brief paragraph on AIDS would be useful. Having made these criticisms there is much to enjoy in the slightly idiosyncratic approach in this book. It will remain popular amongst MRCP candidate...

Approximently 10,000 years ago, civilization began in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia around the river valleys of the Euphrates and the Tiger rivers. It was agriculture that allowed these civilizations to prosper and the river water that allowed agriculture. The number of people in the world has grown signi cantly since then increasing the demand for food production. Agriculture has been fo...