This, like all textbooks on surgical technique, is a very large, expensive, and ambitious work. It is, according to the editor, Dr. Nora, "both a text and an atlas and is intended for the clinical surgeon." Although there are chapters on urological, pulmonary, and cardiac surgery, the great majority of its content is within the territory of the average general surgeon. Much of the information that it includes is of value to surgeons still in training, but few interns or residents will be happy about its price. This is a pity because overall, it is a very good book and achieves its goal, which is description of operative techniques. Its quality in stressing principles is a bit more variable.
For the most part the 73 contributors express themselves well in the standard surgical prose, to which we have all become accustomed; and there is little fault in the editing. The