Rodman and Sterling have written a well-organized and complete treatise about a common and important group of lung disorders. The contents are divided into part 1 "Diagnosis" and part 2 "Treatment." Each chapter of part 1 deals with obstructive lung disease from a different point of view, eg, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, pathology, roentgenographic manifestations, physiologic abnormalities, complications, microbiology aspects. This approach makes it an excellent reference text and simplifies the search for specific items of information. However, it results in a great deal of repetition, and reader interest declines in the latter half of the book. A feeling develops that "I have read all of this before."
Part 2 on treatment is excellent and offers many practical suggestions for dealing with a most difficult group of disorders. This section will be of great value not only to physicians, but also to inhalation therapists, physiotherapists, and nurses assigned to intensive