Norman Kaplan Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 8th Edition, 2002. 560 pp. $95.50. ISBN 0 7817 3224 7.
The most exciting thing about being a hypertensionologist is that one finds oneself working in practically every branch of medicine. We have to know about cardiology, nephrology, obstetrics, paediatrics, neurology, diabetology, endocrinology, ophthalmologyand so on. Unfortunately, the more I learn the less I seem to know. It's getting more and more complicated, and with an exponential curve of papers being published, the task of keeping up-to-date is a never-ending problem. For those of us who want at least some semblance of understanding of the recent advances, we need an up-to-date and ongoing source of information. The majority of textbooks are unsatisfactory and few go beyond a second edition. That's where Kaplan comes in. Consistency of style and eight editions since 1973 means that we do have an authoritative text with an excellent updated bibliography. More importantly, we get his views, balanced and sensible, of the often conflicting world literature. One does not necessarily have to agree with him (for example, I have absolutely no enthusiasm for isotope renography and I also think we should be doing more aldosterone/renin ratios) but his views are fair and both sides of the argument are covered.
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