Endocrinology encompasses both the commonplace of internal medicine, notably diabetes mellitus, and the esoteric. To do justice to both, with the anatomical, clinical, and biochemical detail necessary for informed understanding, requires a massive text, such as that written by the author of this volume or that edited by Williams. An intermediate position is taken by the volume edited by Astwood and Cassidy, which updates a previous volume without attempting completeness.
The text under review takes yet a third position, that of an outline with a key to the literature, intended to be used in conjunction with an adequate library. In many respects, this is the most difficult kind of book to write, since brevity is the enemy of completeness and references to the literature abound in value judgments. I assume this volume is intended as a true handbook, readily available, providing a lucid path through a complex field; in many