1264 Book Reviews

Biology of the Immune Response-Edited bylPeter Abramoff and Mariano F. LaVia

McGraw-Hill, New York, 1970. 492 pp. $.12..50.
Every author writing a book on any rapidly e x p a n d i n g area o f science poses to him-
self the question: "Why another book on - ?". T h e authors o f this book answer in terms
of an attempt to provide "a well organized and integrated textbook . . . which would
be . . , an organic textbook and not a series of disjointed papers on various aspects of
immunobiology". It is i n t e n d e d as an up-to-date integration for " . . . the student of im-
munology and of medicine and the professional man who has been left behind by the
'information explosion' and who needs to 'catch u p ' " . T o help them accomplish this
formidable task, the editors h a d the help of eleven distinguished collaborators. In terms
of b r e a d t h o f coverage, the aim was fulfilled for the variety of subjects and techniques is
indeed wide and thorough. Moreover, the references are good and would provide a
good starting place for continued reading.
I do find fault, however, with some aspects o f the level and the extent o f integration.
As for level, it is variously elementary and advanced. A r e a d e r without some knowledge
of immunology would find the book sometimes very h a r d to read. T e r m s are used here
and there without definition. A search for them in the index is often not helpful for it is
not sufficiently complete. A much m o r e t h o r o u g h index, or better still, a good glossary,
would have helped enormously.
As for its intention as an 'organic textbook', this is the concern of" nay major criticism.
T h e editors have, indeed, attempted to mesh the chapters and to insure cross-referenc-
ing. What they have failed to provide is a coherent point of view o f how the i m m u n e
system works. T h e book lacks a chapter pulling the other chapters together in some
model of the i m m u n e system. Such a model, however wrong in detail, and however
rapidly changing it might be, would at least allow the r e a d e r a framework for support-
ing the t r e m e n d o u s multiplicity o f facts he must remember. It is, after all, what an), good
research worker does for himself or his students.
In summary, the book covers a wide range of i m m u n e p h e n o m e n a and thus provides
the comprehensiveness n e e d e d in an elementary text. It suffers as a textbook from not
being sufficiently tied together for the emergence o f a coherent picture of immuno-
biology. In a sense, this is not the editors' fault but a reflection on the rapidly changing
state of the subject. Still, a good try would have m a d e all the difference.

The SalkInstitute EDWIN S. LENNOX

San Diego, California 92112, U.S.A.

Essential Immunology-By Ivan Roitt. Blackwell Scientific Publ., O x f o r d (F. A. Davis

Co., Philadelphia, U.S.A.) 1971. 220 pp. $5.50,

In thanking his colleagues for helpful discussions, professor Roitt emphasizes that
only he is responsible "for some of the wilder views expressed in this book". Although
some of the ideas presented in the book may have a p p e a r e d "wild" to classical or clinical
immunologists at the time of its writing, they are accepted at present by all of the active
workers in imrnunochemistry and immunobiology. Thus, this book presents an excellent
introduction into m o d e r n immunobiology, immunogenetics and immunochemistry. It
contains nine sections, each o f them written in essay form, emphasizing the essentials,
and making them understandable by a series of very instructive diagrams. T h e introduc-
tory section deals with historical and basic aspects of immunology. T h e titles of the fi)l-
lowing section are: hnmunoglobulins; Synthesis of Antibodies; Theories of Antibody
Synthesis; Interaction o f Antigen and Antibody "in vitro"; Hypersensitivity; Immunity
to Infection; Transplantation; and Autoimmunity. It is amazing that this wide area of
topics can be presented intelligently and at the same time in a fascinating way on only
220 pages. Although the book is written as an introduction for readers who are not ac-
 Book Reviews 1265

quainted with immunology, its diagrams make it valuable to all those who teach immun-
ology. The reviewer recommends professor Roitt's book as an excellent introduction to
the concepts of modern immunology.

Department of Chemistry FELIX HAUROWITZ

Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana 47401, U.S.A.

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