This series of books is designed to help general practitioners. So are other books. What is unusual in this instance is their collec- tive authorship; they are written by specialists working at district general hospitals. The writers derive their own experi- ence from a range of cases less highly selected than those on which textbooks are traditionally based. They are also in a good position to pick out topics which they see creating difficulties for the practitioners of their district, whose personal capacities are familiar to them; and to concentrate on contexts where mistakes are most...