Mayo Clin Proc, October 1987, Vol 62 BOOK REVIEWS 961

primary sarcomas of the nervous system, head and neck, lung, heart, gastrointestinal tract, genito­urinary tract, female genital tract, retroperito-neum, breast, trunk, and extremities. In general, the chapters about sarcomas of individual organ systems are reasonably inclusive reviews of the applicable literature. The chapters that review the pathologic features, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy present less comprehensive discussions of the available literature, and the guidelines and treatment recommendations made in these chapters occasionally reflect only the preferences of the authors (other experts in these fields may espouse different guidelines and treatment recommendations).

Overall, this book is a good reference source for information on soft tissue sarcomas.

Charles L. Loprinzi, M.D. Division of Medical Oncology

Childhood Asthma: Pathophysiology and Treatment, edited by David G. Tinkelman, Constantine J. Falliers, and Charles K. Naspitz, 385 pp, with illus, $89.75, New York, Marcel Dekker, 1987

This is an extremely well-written, complete, and useful text on asthma in infancy and childhood. Its value is enhanced because it is one of the very few volumes dealing with the younger child. The well-known authors have published excellent works in their respective fields as they relate to childhood asthma. Prepublication information about the book touted the fact that experts from six countries and five continents contribute mate­rial for the volume—a statistic that certainly does not detract from the overall quality of the pub­lication but deserves less emphasis than the superb content itself.

Because this is a textbook, it is organized ac­cordingly. The early chapters describe functional differences between lungs of normal and of asth­matic children. Specific discussions address defense mechanisms of the lung, the wheezing infant, and treatment of the wheezing infant. In addition, therapeutic approaches to chronic asthma and acute asthma are discussed in an interesting and informative manner. A glossary of abbreviations should be helpful to the reader.

The more I read of this book, the more I enjoyed it. The diagrams and tables are excellent, espe­cially the tabular presentation of the pulmonary scoring system in acute asthma, intravenous use of theophylline, and algorithms. As a clinician, I was particularly interested in the chapters on therapy for acute and chronic asthma as it relates to drug dosages and specific "how-tos." This is one of the few sources that provide information on the wheezing infant and use of a variety of medications, including the pros and cons of theophylline, /3-adrenergic agents, nebulizer ther­apy, and others. A short but appropriate discus­sion reviews studies of immunotherapy and its role in childhood asthma. Educational self-help measures and available reading material on asthma are thoroughly covered. In an interesting section entitled "Psychological and Neurophysio-logical Aspects of Childhood Asthma," topics that range from residential treatment centers to family reactions to chronic illness are discussed.

In summary, this is an excellent textbook about asthma in infants and children. I highly recom­mend that it be available to those caring for children with asthma, especially pediatric aller­gists and pediatric pulmonary specialists. The material should also appeal to general pediatri­cians and family practitioners.

Edward J. O'Connell, M.D. Department of Pediatrics

Clinical Management of Prostatic Cancer, by Joseph A. Smith, Jr., and Richard G. Middle-ton, 187 pp, with illus, $35, Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers, 1987

Drs. Joseph Smith and Richard Middleton, from the Division of Urology at the University of Utah, are two respected investigators in the field of prostatic cancer. They have divided the con­tents of this small book, Clinical Management of Prostatic Cancer, into 10 chapters. The discus­sion encompasses detection, epidemiologic fea­tures, diagnosis, staging, methods of local ther­apy, and treatment of the disease by stage. Furthermore, brief chapters address the topics of endocrine treatment and chemotherapy as well as management of complications of the disease.