This little paperback book is a gem which may escape the attention of readers on this side of the Atlantic because it deals mainly with the state of contemporary pediatrics in Great Britain. For us not to be aware of this book would be a mistake; many of the problems and shortcomings which Drs. Joseph and MacKeith discuss are equally germane to the United States.
The authors attempt to define in 11 chapters such elusive things as just what pediatrics really is, what are the crucial current problems, how the changing patterns of death and morbidity in childhood have altered the demands on pediatricians, andthroughout the book as a leitmotivhow to make medical students and physicians more aware of preventive aspects of medicine.