Whenever I read a book written and published in the British Isles, I realize that there is a great deal more separating the United States and Great Britain than the Atlantic Ocean. This book reminds me that although our systems of medicine run parallel, we have important differences in our philosophies of education and practice of medicine. Dipping into this book, as Commander Whitehead would say, is "curiously refreshing." It opens one's eyes to new perspectives on the practice of pediatrics in the United States today.
The late great Ellis and his coauthor, Mitchell, are from Edinburgh and Aberdeen, Scotland, respectively. Their book was designed as an introduction to the diseases of infancy and childhood for senior medical students with the hope that it might also be useful to family physicians and junior hospital staff members. It was not intended to substitute for more complete textbooks of pediatrics or for