This book embodies 22 chapters, the majority of which have to do with diseases not commonly encountered by the practicing allergist, the knowledge of which, however, should make any clinician a better one. The only criticism I might offer would be the somewhat meager space devoted to allergic rhinitis, asthma, urticaria, and contact and atopic dermatitis, the most commonly encountered diseases in the clinical practice of allergy. These remarks are not intended to detract from the values of the book, which is most informative.
The first chapter, "Immune Response," includes a comprehensive, yet concise, description of immunoglobulin structures (with an excellent table of the characteristics of IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE), the complement system, chemical mediators, and blood group substances. It is the only chapter, however, that does not have numbered references in the text.
Other chapters discuss the immune responses in diseases of the kidney, including experimental and