that too many articles in ‘Annual Reviews’ each comprising two or more chapters and and subtropics, where
and subtropics, where there is a pressing need
are written in a characteristically dense style,
suggesting that the authors felt they had to
include very possible reference and make
every possible point. This makes them a
useful source of information, but hard to
read. Some of this year’s reviews are like that,
but by no means all. Among those I particu-
larly liked (no doubt reflecting my own in-
terests) were one by Gilman on the G-
proteins which are important in the transduc-
tion of signals from receptors. and another by
Srere on the enzymes involved in sequential
metabolic pathways.
Whatever any reviewer says, many
biochemists and all relevant libraries will buy
this book: they will not be disappointed.
Simon van Heyningen
Diseases and Plant Population Biology. By
Jeremy J. Burdon. Pp. 208. Cambridge
University Press. 1987. Hardcoverf27.50
($49.50/, Paperbackf 12.50 ($19.95).
In this timely monograph Jeremy Burdon
successfully describes the various studies and
theoretical considerations of the interactions
between plant communities and parasitic fun-
gi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the au-
thor’s aim is to consider natural plant com-
munities, the paucity of observed and ex-
perimental data from such communities
makes the use of experimental data from
agricultural systems inevitable. Disease in the
latter is sometimes catastrophic but the abs-
ence of similar examples from natural plant
communities does not mean that effects of
disease are insignificant. On the contrary, the
author argues that disease is a powerful
selective force shaping the size, pattern, and
structure of natural plant communities. In
reiterating data from crop pathology the
author manages to describe well documented
material with refreshing clarity that will
please both ecologists and plant pathologists.
The effects of pathogens on the evolution-
ary performance (fecundity and longevity) of
individual host plants and the co-evolutionary
interactions between populations of hosts and
pathogens are described. Additionally, fac-
tors such as host resistance and susceptibility,
demography, density, and distribution are
considered in detail. Using information from
a variety of related disciplines the author
succinctly argues his case for recognising the
important ecological role played by plant
pathogens.
The book is a lively account, well refer-
enced, and at an acceptable price, at least in
paperback.
R. C. Shattock
Epizootiology of Insect Diseases. Edited
by James R. Fuxa and Yoshinori Tanada.
Pp. 555. Wiley, Chichester. 1987. f55.00.
The appearance of Epizootiology of Insect
Diseases is timely and fills an urgent
need for a book that brings together insects,
their diseases, and the factors that determine
the outcome of disease on insect populations.
The material is organised in four parts,
52
progressing from Concepts and Methodology
(Part 1) through Key Factors (host popula-
tion, pathogen population, transmission, en-
vironment, patterns over place and time (Part
II), and Disease Groups (both infectious and
non-infectious (Part III) to Practical Aspects
(microbial control of insects, prevention of
insect diseases (Part IV). Part I, which covers
epidemiological concepts as applied to insect
epizootiology, ecological methods, and
mathematical modelling, is particularly useful
in setting the scene for what follows. The
format for each chapter (introduction, main
body of work, conclusion, and references),
combined with cross-referencing between
chapters and a good index, all help to make
this book informative, well referenced, and
enjoyable to read. The editors are to be
congratulated on the uniformity of presenta-
tion and the authors on clarity of expression.
Epizootiology of Insect Diseases should
prove useful to readers and research workers
from a wide range of disciplines.
F. R. Hunter
Acidification of Freshwaters. By Malcolm
CresserandAnthony Edwards. Pp. 138.
Cambridge University Press. 1987. f 19.50
($34.501.
In an integrated approach the authors present
a valuable review of the mechanisms regulat-
ing the acidity of freshwaters. At present, the
progressive disappearance in the last decades
of salmon and trout populations from rivers
and lakes in Scandinavia, the United King-
dom, and Canada is well recognised as an
example of the disruptive effects of water
acidification on freshwater ecosystems.
Whereas the relationship between recent wa-
ter acidification and atmospheric pollution
has been established, the authors are stressing
the importance of natural processes in the
surface soils that may modify and eventually
determine the impact of acid precipitation on
the drainage water. Soils naturally acidify
when geochemical weathering is no longer
capable of offsetting base-leaching losses, and
this process is susceptible to modification as a
result of human activities. Changes in land
use - such as deforestation or afforestation
with coniferous trees, ploughing, and use of
fertiliser - may substantially influence water
pH. The underlying soil chemistry and physic-
al and hydrological principles are discussed.
In the final chapters the authors deal with the
experimental methods and possible priorities
for freshwater acidification research. The
book is of interest for many students of this
interdisciplinary field.
S. E. Wendelaar Bonga
The Potato in the Human Diet. By Jennifer
A. Woolfe. Pp. 231. Cambridge University
Press. 1987. f 17.50 ($32.50; price for
CAMBlSEf9.95).
Since its inception in 1972, the International
Potato Center, sponsor of this publication,
must take much credit for fostering potato
production and consumption in the tropics
for a high yielding nutritious crop.
While the ability of the potato to give high
yields over a relatively short period of time is
widely appreciated, its equally important nut-
ritional properties are frequently overlooked
and often misunderstood. Jennifer Woolfe
has undertaken the invaluable task of remov-
ing such ignorance and often prejudice in a
relatively short, thoroughly researched, and
well written book.
The six chapters deal with the structure and
composition of the tuber; the nutritional
value of the components; the protein and
other nitrogenous constituents (popularly
and erroneously underrated); the effects of
cooking, storage, and processing on the nutri-
tive value of potatoes; toxic or potentially
toxic constituents; and finally a chapter on the
patterns of potato consumption in the tropics.
The book could with advantage be read by
all interested in understanding, promoting, or
consuming the potato. The author, and Dr
Susan Poats who contributed to the book, are
to be congratulated for providing a much
needed addition to the growing literature on
the crop.
P. M. Harris
An Introduction to the Historiography of
Science. By Helge Kragh. Pp. 235.
Cambridge University Press. 1987. f 19.50
($32.50).
As an introduction to the problems involved
in writing about the history of science, this
book cannot really be recommended. Most of
the philosophy is derivative, and too much of
it is sloppy, despite a parade of the external
apparatus of rigour. The historical parts are
more rewarding, but even here there are too
many gross blunders. One of the chosen
discussion examples of a historical fact is that
Darwin was born in 1802; a very elementary
exercise in historical research would show
that he was born in 1809. (The date 1802
cannot be a misprint-it is repeated too many
times.) Dr Kragh also seems to believe that
Galileo’s Dialog0 was written in Latin. All the
historical discussions are based largely (some-
times entirely) on modern secondary literature,
and none appear to be founded on the author’s
own research. Some of these secondary sources
are of high quality, but not all: a discussion of
the hypothesis that Newton’s mental break-
down was caused by mercury poisoning is
based on a popular article by a scientific
journalist, and as a result events which took
place when Newton was 50 are ascribed to his
youth. In short, a disappointing treatment of
an interesting subject.
.7. R. Milton
English Science, Bacon to Newton. Edited
by Brian Vickers. Pp. 244. Cambridge
University Press. 1987 Hardback, f27.50
($44.50), Paperbackf9.95($15.95).
The Cambridge English Prose Texts are now
enriched by a selection of eight pieces of
English scientific writing composed between
1660 and 1672, their authors being Robert