The 11th edition of this classic compendium of rheumatologic knowledge should be reviewed in the context of its intended audience (the specialist's reference shelf, library patrons, and the board-eligible fellowship graduate) and its competition (Textbook of Rheumatology, by Kelley et al, 3rd ed, WB Saunders Co, 1989).
As a framework for review, in addition to skimming the entire volume, 1(1) specifically looked up (in both books) the first five interesting topics that arose during rounds and (2) carefully read several scientific chapters as if I were a seminaive recent graduate studying for the internal medicine boards rite of passage. I expected the clinical chapters to be useful to the experienced as well as the recently trained clinician, whereas the basic science chapters should be oriented more toward the student, resident, or fellow.
In the first category, I started with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is given short shrift in