Thirty-five scientists with Well-established interests in the chemistry and metabolism of iron have contributed to this excellently written and edited analysis of current knowledge in their field. The book opens with a detailed discussion of the coordination chemistry of iron, and continues with biochemically oriented descriptions of various iron-containing molecules, including transferrin, ferritin, haem, haem-proteins, and non-haem proteins. The latter half of the book is more biologically oriented, with discussions of iron absorption; tissue effects, epidemiology, and treatment of iron deficiency; the relation of iron to the reticuloendothelial system; iron overload; iron kinetics; infection and iron; and genetic abnormalities of iron metabolism in animals.
Each article is thoroughly documented, as one would expect from the fact that each of the authors has contributed substantially to the experimental knowledge in the field. The current questions in each area are carefully appraised, together with critical marshalling of the pertinent evidence. The following