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Book Review
Chest Radiology:The Essentials. By Jannette Collins and Eric J. Stern. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 284 pp., 1999. $79
his book was a pleasure to read and review. The concept of the book is powerful and precise: to impart knowledge in an easy-to-read, concise, coherent format. It is impossible to overapplaud the concept and the importance of the authors emphasis on the fundamental knowledge required to interpret chest radiographic ndings. After reading this book, one understands clearly that chest radiology is founded on basic principles that provide the key to understanding complex entities. The authors are well-renowned thoracic radiologists with extensive teaching and publishing experience, which is reected in the well-written and well-structured format of this textbook. Both authors have completed Figley Fellowships in Radiology Journalism, and this experience has undoubtedly contributed to their ability to convey a wide array of facts consistently and clearly. The authors are adept at simplifying complexity, and their ambitious effort to present the essentials of chest radiology in a textbook is a success. Like any good basic textbook, the format is obliged to be simultaneously both detailed and expansive. That the authors overcome this dilemma and reach a ne balance in integrating the two is a notable achievement. The result is a well-focused, seldom repetitious, wide-ranging review that is an invaluable guide to chest radiology. The book is divided into 18 chapters, with the rst two illustrating normal anatomy and signs of disease. The remaining chapters on lung disease are based on a pattern approach to recognizing disease and generating appropriate differential diagnoses. Other chapters focus

on specic entities such as diseases in the immunocompromised patient, neoplasms of the lung, and monitoring and support devices commonly encountered in intensive care units. Each chapter has been organized in a similar fashion, with an emphasis on learning objectives and the fundamental knowledge required to interpret chest radiographic ndings correctly. The chapters are concise and comprehensive enough for the reader to obtain a rm foundation in the essential aspects of the topic reviewed. However, the depth of discussion has been limited so that each chapter can be read in a relatively short time; it is possible to read the entire book in a few days. Each chapter contains numerous high-quality radiographic images and uses CT images to clarify and elucidate radiographic ndings. Tables that summarize important aspects of the text and schematic drawings facilitate the understanding of basic radiologic signs. Furthermore, each chapter references larger and more comprehensive textbooks for the reader who wants to review topics in more detail. With any text of this nature, certain topics cannot be covered to the full extent they deserve. However, the authors have used their experience to write an excellent textbook in which there are no substantial omissions. Providing any constructive criticism of this book is difcult because its scope, structure, and attention to detail are superb. I have two minor criticisms. First, the radiograph showing an example of primary tuberculosis with bilateral cavitary disease is not a classic example of the radiographic manifestation of this disease.

Showing a more characteristic example of sublobar or lobar consolidation without cavitation would have been better. Second, the radiograph showing asbestosis with predominantly bibasilar pulmonary brosis has been poorly croppedthe bases are not entirely included on the image. Besides these criticisms, the images are of high quality and are well illustrated, with explanatory arrows and captions. Chest radiographs are an integral part of daily practice in radiology and are too often poorly understood and interpreted. Chest Radiology: The Essentials is indispensable for learning how to interpret the chest radiograph and diagnose intrathoracic abnormalities. The radiology resident, pulmonary fellow, or any physician interested in interpretation of chest radiographs will not be able to nd a better comprehensive review of the basics. The book is particularly suited for radiology residents in their rst years of training, although it would also be an excellent way for senior residents to rapidly review an extensive array of intrathoracic manifestations of disease. In summary, the authors are gifted writers and consummate conveyers of fact in this thoughtful, well-developed book. The authors desire to impart knowledge is an insistent refrain from start to nish. I recommend this book with no hesitation. Without doubt, Chest Radiology: The Essentials is an excellent comprehensive text for those in teaching programs, both in chest radiology and pulmonology. Jeremy J. Erasmus Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710

If you would like to review books for AJR, please send a cover letter stating your interest with a current curriculum vitae to Assistant Editor for Book Reviews, AJR, 101 S. Stratford Rd., Ste. 303, Winston-Salem, NC 27104.

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AJR:175, December 2000