The third edition of this standard text is an impressive accomplishment. The contributors— Europeans, but mostly Germans—are well-known authorities in their respective fields. My former teacher, the late Professor Rössle, wrote the chapters on the investigative history of allergy and on the clinical pathology of allergic diseases; Klinge and Fassbender, the chapter on the experimental pathology of allergy. The editor, Professor Hansen, contributed chapters on functional changes which are the result of antigen-antibody reactions; on sensitizing agents; on diagnostic procedures, and the chapters on clinical allergies of the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the nervous system. No aspect of allergy is omitted; the book has been put together with a craftsman's attention to detail. The fact that it ends with a comprehensive review of allergic diseases in animals (Wagener) might convey a rough idea about its design.
It is, perhaps, understandable that such an ambitious project cannot be without flaws. The chapters are uneven; some are clear and precise, some (such