The second edition of A Manual of Clinical Allergy fulfills the goals set by the editors: to provide a useful, succinct introduction to the field; and to serve as a supplementary source of information about certain aspects of allergy not readily available elsewhere.
Most of the topics covered by the editors and contributing authors are presented in a concise manner. Chapter 1, "The Immunology and Immunochemistry of Allergy," presents in a readable fashion the basic science underpinnings of allergy. This 20-page section could not have been further condensed. Indeed, it would have been preferable if some of the material in the 30 pages of chapter 7 ("Drugs Useful in Allergic Diseases") could have been sacrificed to facilitate expansion of chapter 1. Chapters 18 and 19 are also too brief in their consideration of immunologic disease, other than atopy.
Chapter 13, "Headache in Allergy Practice," is handled in a rather negative