Tokyo, 1991. Paperback £15.95. Even if a recently published novel's portrayal of Harvard Medical School as a mixture ofLacedaemonian schooling and an intellectual commando course is likely to be hyperbolic, few would deny that what is good enough for their first year medical students is likely to be good enough for everyone else. Amazingly, the authors of this textbook of immunology have achieved a fresh approach to the subject which is not rendered superfluous by the plethora of ostensibly

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... lar texts. This is a rigorously disciplined book which uses molecular building blocks as the basis for describing structure and function. It is superbly illustrated with the right blend of figures and narrative. It passes the ultimate test for a book structured in this way; there are virtually no redundant, reduplicative, or unacceptably controversial figures or paragraphs. It is billed as an 'introductory textbook' used for 'first year medical students at Harvard Medical School'. There must be few practising immunologists, let alone other scientists or physicians, who would be confident of their mastery of its contents. It is highly recommended to those who want rigorous instruction in the science and application of immunology. It is not a book for those who prefer a diet ofeffortlessly assimilable pap. Scholarly readers who chose this sterner approach to the subject will be rewarded by first-class illustrations and a meticulously structured narrative at a very low price. They will also be reading an account which is far more up to date than most immunology texts said to be directed at readers more advanced than first year medical students. This is an exciting and challenging pocket-sized book. In the first half, 153 clinical or investigatory photographs are presented, background information provided and several questions asked. In the second half, the answers are given, along with much illuminating ancillary comment. Nearly all pictures are of high quality (including the X-rays!). A few of the fibre-optic pictures lack adequate definition. The book describes itself, correctly, on the front cover as being 'a colour guide', although intelligent use of the index can allow this book to be used for rapid access to basic information. Those with experience of caring for AIDS patients will enjoy exercising their diagnostic skills whereas those with only slight experience will discover their areas of ignorance and have them corrected in private (which of us likes our ignorance to be corrected in public?). In summary, almost everyone will profit from reading this book: it is not a textbook, large sections ofwhich have to be read at one sitting, but rather a book that can be usefully read from cover to cover in repeated spare moments.