The American Hospital.

This handsomely printed little monograph keeps up well with the standards of book-making set by the Commonwealth Fund. Sponsored by the Committee on Medicine and Changing Order of the New York Academy of Medicine, the object of this publication is to give a concise, factual summary concerning American hospitals. This is well done in chapters on the development of hospitals and in presentation of data on size, distribution, operating costs, house staff and other factors. There are comprehensive lists of references at the end of each chapter. The book, on the whole, is written from the standpoint of the technical expert and unfortunately deals only in a limited way with some of the most important problems of medicine. The author does not clearly show the fundamental difference of purpose between the university teaching hospital and other hospitals. In his discussion of house staff he does not definitely point out the