This textbook is a monumental achievement by a distinguished surgeon acting as editor, commentator, and, in a very important fashion, contributor. The roster of contributors reads like a "who's who" of surgical practice and clinical investigation. Since the authors are eminent leaders in surgery today, this reviewer expected the content of the material from each to reflect his stature, experience, and past contributions to the art and science of surgery; this the book does, and very well.
Dr Hardy's concept of the "problem approach," rather then the time-perpetuated history-anatomy-embryology-and-so-on approach, is a new departure for a textbook. It presents a challenge to both the editor and the participants. In the Rhoads fifth edition, the challenge has been met successfully. The reviewer was favorably impressed by the uniformity in format of illustrative and tabular material from article to article; the design of all the tables and illustrations is clear, consistent, and