The University of Minnesota's Annual Continuation Course in Surgery has a well-deserved reputation for excellence and pertinence. Drs John Najarian and John Delaney have organized the lectures and panel discussions from the 1979 course into an "up-to-date survey of progress in gastrointestinal surgery."
Recent advances in controversial subjects are presented without conflicting opinions or techniques. Each essayist was chosen for his particular expertise, and presents his approach to a particular clinical problem, along with his rationale, methods, and results. Happily, the authors are among the most distinguished in American and British surgery, and their presentations in general are worthwhile and practical.
Each presentation is preceded by "objectives," in which the author summarizes the points he will make. At the end of each presentation is a "selfevaluation quiz" of varying quality. This army training manual literary style does not detract from the overall effect: each chapter is a concise presentation of