Until I learn more about the publishing business, I won't know whether the appearance of a second edition of a book is a testimony to the excellence of the first edition, the effectiveness of its sales appeal, the persistence of its author, the acquisitiveness or foolhardiness of the publisher, or other possible factors. In the case of Dr. Sauer's Manual of Skin Diseases, I can suspect the new edition has appeared from an interest in improving and making current a book that was justifiably successful at its inception.
Requiring only seven eighths of an inch of shelf space, the book provides a satisfactorily complete summary of what most physicians need to know about those disorders that constitute some 99% of cutaneous complaints. Dr. Sauer clearly addresses himself to the nondermatologist, which permits him to omit most of the synonyms and esoterica that clutter too many of the books that are