During the past 20 years, the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has gained recognition as a major cause of death in infants. The first edition of Guntheroth's book was for a number of years the only text devoted exclusively to the subject of SIDS. This second edition has been greatly expanded and extensively revised.
The second version continues to be a very readable text. Its organization is improved with more extensive use of subheadings. The book contains nine chapters. The first is a chronological overview of the development of our knowledge of SIDS. The subsequent chapters provide in-depth coverage of SIDS including pathology, epidemiology, near-miss SIDS, theories of cardiovascular cause, possible respiratory causes, miscellaneous causal theories, maternal factors, management, and prevention. The book contains well over 1000 well-chosen references, more than three times the number in the first edition. A major strength of the book is its unusually well-documented coverage