The carefully nurtured hypertrophy of our concerns about cancer has led to, among other things, the proliferation of books about cancer at a rate exceeding the capacity of intellectual metabolism. Many such books are repetitive potboilers. Some are good. One in the latter category is the contribution of Raymond W. Ruddon, MD, PhD, of Michigan and a scientist of the National Cancer Institute at its Frederick station.
Ruddon provides a status report in a rapidly moving field. The material is well presented and current, but also includes historically important contributions. The book is valuable for graduate, advanced students who are interested in oncology and are versed in molecular biology. For most clinicians, nurses, and more general readers, the book requires too much background.
The first two chapters are introductory, outlining the pathology and distribution of cancer in man. Comparative pathology and epizootiology, from which much has been learned about cancer,