Handbook of Clinical Neurology, vol 1: Disturbances of Nervous Function

A generation ago, anyone writing a neurological paper began his search of the literature with the Bumke-Foerster Handbuch der Neurologie. That modest compendium filled 18 volumes, and each chapter was a comprehensive monograph. The unmanageable growth of medical literature in the interim has affected neurology as it has all other specialties. A distinguished and international group of neurological leaders apparently decided in 1964 that a new handbook was needed to provide appropriate summaries of basic and clinical knowledge. We now have the first volume. This one differs from its predecessor in several respects. There are more chapters and more authors. The number of volumes will be greater, at least 30. Many continental neurologists contribute, but all the monographs are published in English and the translations seem quite good. The bibliographies are extensive but can not now be all-inclusive. These features are among the virtues of volume 1, and there are