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Spiritual healing.

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 DEC. 1, 1951 REVIEWS BRITISH
MIMIC.M. JOURNAL
1323

TEXTBOOK OF HEART DISEASE

Reviews Heart Disease. Its Diagnosis and Treatment. By
Emanuel Goldberger, B.S., M.D. (Pp. 652; 90 illus-
trations. £3 lOs.) London: Henry Kimpton. 1951.
A DOCTOR'S LIFE The general plan and scope of this book are commend-
Leaves from a Doctor's Life. By Sir Philip Panton. able. It is divided into five sections. In the first the
(Pp. 232; illustrated. 18s.T London: William Heine- author discusses the normal heart as shown by physical
mann. 195 1.
examination, recording methods, radiology, electro-
Philip Panton was born on December 26, 1877, in the cardiography, and special tests. In the second he
little Dorset town of Wareham, the son of a brewer of considers the abnormal heart in similar manner. The
yeoman stock. He inherited his artistic bent-for third section is on heart failure, shock, syncope, angina
pathologists can also be artists in their work-from his pectoris, neurocirculatory asthenia, and cardiac arrhyth-
mother, the daughter of W. P. Frith, R.A., whose mias. In section four he classifies the various forms of
pictures "Derby Day," "The Railway Station," and heart disease according to aetiology, and describes them
" Ramsgate Sands" drew crowds to the Royal Academy individually. Finally, in the fifth section he discusses
when they were first exhibited. Incidentally, Panton heart disease in relation to pregnancy, general surgery,
records a remarkable ghost story which he heard from anaesthesia, and employment.
his grandfather. Philip Calderon, R.A., was the Little has been neglected in this survey, and on the
author's godfather. whole the factual and explanatory details are accurate
After leaving preparatory school Panton went to and orthodox; yet the work is not entirely satisfactory.
Harrow, then under the able sway of Dr. Welldon. He There are 90 illustrations, but they are mostly diagrams,
met there L. S. Amery, whom Weildon considered his and they are not listed in the table of contents. There
best pupil, Winston Churchill, " that strangest of school- are plenty of references at the.end of each chapter, but
boys and most brilliant of war Prime Ministers," and none are referred to in the text. The style, though crisp
G. M. Trevelyan, " most readable of historians." From enough in many places, is clumsy, almost careless, in
Harrow Panton proceeded in due course to Trinity Col- others. For example, the introduction to the section on
lege, Cambridge, where Walter Fletcher was his director cor pulmonale is as follows : "Although the clinical
of studies. He admits he was not a strenuous student, picture of progressive right-sided heart failure resulting
finding time for cricket, tennis, or football in the after-from chronic cor pulmonale is similar, regardless of the
noons, but after taking his natural sciences tripos he etiology of the cor pulmonale, the more common con-
went to St. Thomas's Hospital, where life was more ditions responsible for chronic cor pulmonale will be
earnest. separately described below." A textbook is unlikely to
Qualified M.B.Cantab., Panton took house appoint- be rated very highlv if the author is indifferent to natural
ments at his hospital, went as ship-surgeon for a voyage figures, references, and good English (or American).
round the world, and, after a period in the laboratories Moreover, Dr. Goldberger does not seem sufficiently
of St. Thomas's Medical School, became clinical patho- familiar with some aspects of his subject. What he
logist at the London Hospital. Here he worked steadily writes on radiology is consistently weak, and the chap-
for thirty years, training generations of students in ters on congenital heart disease, rheumatic fever, and
pathology and winning the friendship and esteem of cor pulmonale, conditions of great current interest, are
his colleagues on the hospital staff. His reputation in poor, particularly from the clinical point of view.
pathology was well known to "London " men, but it Several statements in these three chapters seem incom-
was less fully appreciated by the outside world. This patible with much real experience of the matter
was because of Panton's retiring personality, for he described.
never published much and kept his wisdom for his Nevertheless, despite these rather serious defects,
students. When the second world war came, Panton was Dr. Goldberger's book ranks as one of the better
called to the Ministry, of Health as consultant adviser treatises on heart disease written since the second world
in pathology. As he relates in this book, it was difficult war. It is up to date, and its permanent strength lies
for so strong an individualist to adapt himself to work- in its simplicity, completeness, and balance.
ing with Civil Servants, whose outlook in many matters PAUL WOOD.
seemed to be obstructive and hampering. But the
experiment succeeded. On better acquaintance, mutual SPIRITUAL HEALING
respect ensued, harmony prevailed, and Panton effi- Psychology, Religion, and Healing. By Leslie D.
ciently organized the hospital laboratory services on a Weatherhead, M.A., Ph.D., Hon.D.D.(Edin.). (Pp. 544.
large scale. In this task he never spared himself, and £1 5s.) London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1951.
he crowned his career by putting the finishing touches It is only in comparatively recent times and in selected
to the work, which is of enduring value for the diagnosis communities that psychiatry has attempted to take over
and treatment of disease, before he retired. His out- the healing of the mind from the preachers. It has yet
standing services were recognized by the bestowal of a to be shown by comparative results that this always
knighthood. constitutes an advance. This is especially the case with
In these pages Panton has crystallized the experiences psychotherapy in the neuroses. For instance, the failure
and reflections of a lifetime. Readers, especially those of Freudian and other doctrinaire methods to cope with
of riper years, will enjoy his frank and independent the problem of the alcoholic has allowed religiously
views on voluntary and State hospitals, doctors and orientated systems like Alcoholics Anonymous to come
medical students, pathology, the Ministry of Health, and to the fore again and show they have something more
the art of growing old. Panton was always a delightful practical and successful to offer.
companion, and, like Heraclitus, "his pleasant voices, In his writing and work on spiritual healing, however,
his nightingales," are still awake in this book which Dr. Weatherhead has for many years tried to bridge the
he has given us. ARTHUR S. MACNALTY. present gulf and synthesize religious and modem psycho-
 1324 DEC. 1, 1951 REVIEWS MEDICJOURNAL
- I
therapeutic approaches. In his latest book he examines
and compares the various methods of religious and BOOKS RECEIVED
psychological healing used throughout the ages. He Review is not precluded by notice here of books recently received
includes a study of biblical miracles, exorcism of
demons, Christian Science, and the like, and discusses Community Mental Health in Practice. Proceedings of a
at length the theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler. Conference on Mental Health held at St. Pancras Town Hall,
London, N.W.1, March 12-13, 1Q51. (Pp. 67. 3s. 6d.) London:
Emphasis is laid on current psychosomatic theories of National Association for Mental Health. 1951.
the causation of bodily illness to explain some of the
successes obtained in religious healing. The Testing of Hearing Aids. By D. B. Fry and P. Deries.
Booklet No. 490. (Pp 39. Is.) London: National Institute for
Psychiatry might gain much from a more searching the Deaf. 1951.
examination of why spiritual healing is often more
successful than its own practices in helping some people Christianity and Human Relations in lndus:rv. By Sir
in states of mental conflict. A greater certainty of George Schuster, K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., C.B.E., M.C. (Pp. i28.
6s. 6d.) London: The Epworth Press. 1951
approach, maturer handling of group techniques, and Milk Testing. By J. G. Davis, D Sc., Ph.D., F.R.I.C. (Pp. 260.
more positive guidance all play a part. Greater realism
may be shown in the mobilizing of repressed emotions. 15ss) London: Dairy Industries. 1951.
But the dangers inherent in lay or pastoral psycho- Understanding Your Child. By L. Stebbing. (Pp 107.
therapy are obvious, especially in the severer forms of 5s. 6d.) London: New Knowledge Books. 1951
mental disorder. Dr. Weatherhead stresses the absolute The Snail I-losts of Bilhar.Zia in Arica. By A. Mozley,
need for the closest co-operation between doctors and D.Sc., Ph.D., F.R S.Ed. (Pp. 78. 9s.) London: H. K. Lewis.
pastoral psychotherapists attempting such work. He 1951.
tries to be fair to all approaches, pointing out that leu-
cotomy and E.C.T. may be needed in selected patients, The Story o0 St. Luke's Hospital. By C. N. French,
C.M.G., C.B.E. (Pp. 212. 8s. 6d.) Londe&: William
and spiritual guidance or a probing of the unconscious Heinemann. 1951.
'in others. He shows tolerance and understanding to-
wards the many different methods necessary to help Diet Book of the David Lewis Northerni 1lospial, Liverpool,
I97i. (Pp. 68. 7s. 6d.) Liverpool: Lee and Nightingale. 1951.
the regaining of spiritual balance by- " all sorts and
conditions of man." Exernises After Childbirth. By G. Behn, M.C.S.P. (Pp. 32.
3s.) Edinburgh: E. vnd S. Livingstone. 1951.
WILLIAM SARGANT.
Orthopaedic Nursing. By M. Powell, S.R.N., M.C.S.IP.
(Pp. 400. 25s.) Edinburgh: E. and S. Livingstone. 1951.
MAN'S ORIGIN Cayetano Heredia. By Dr. C. E. Paz Soldan. (Pp. 289. No
Wonderfuliy Made. Soime Modern Discoveries about 'price.) Lima: Publicaciones del Instituto de Medicina Social.
the Structure and Functions of the Human Body. By 1951.
A. Rendle Short, M.D., F.R.C.S. The Second Thoughts De la Methode etn Medecine. By Professor R. CrAwhet. 'nd
Library, No. 6. (Pp. 160. 6s.) London: The Pater- ed. (Pp. 248. No price.) Paris:, Presses Universitaires de
noster Press. 1951. France. 1951.
This little book has for its main object the consideration
of the eternal and insoluble question of man's origin. Rapports, Communications, Discussions. Sdances d'lnaugu-
ration de la Soci&te Fran9aise de Dermatologie et de Syphili-
The author, a well-known surgeon who has a special graphie Filiale Marseillaise. (Pp. 470. No price.) Marseilles:
knowledge of physiology, in the first place describes Editions M. Leconte. 1951.
briefly several of the chief physiological mechanisms of der Rontgendiagnostik. By H. R. Schinz and others.
the body. He does this in clear and simple language, Lehrbuch
Part 4, 5th ed. (Pp. 513. M. 84.) Stuttgart: Georg Thieme.
and with the use of many apt but homely analogies, so 1951.
that the ordinary layman cannot fail to understand the
meaning and to appre;iate why the title of the book was Angewandte und Topographische Anatomie. By Professor
G. Tondury. (Pp. 416. M. 70.) Stuttgart: Georg Thieme. 1951.
chosen.
In the last section he compares three of the main views
held concerning man's origin-entelechy, Darwinism, In selecting material for The Medical Annual, 1951 (John
and divine creation. The author rejects the first, accepts Wright and Sons, Ltd., 27s. 6d.), the editors, Sir Henry
the second with certain definite limitations, and gives Tidy and Mr. A. Rendle Short, have again been remark-
logical reasons for accepting the third. He points out ably successful, for the many distinguished contributors
some difficulties which arise if natural selection is have reviewed not only the latest progress in medical science
regarded as the only process leading to evolution, and but have includedconditions useful notes on some of the common
and troublesome often seen in general practice.
quotes several distinguished modern scientists in support Dr. Avery Jones, for instance, writes about aerophagy and
of his view. flatulence, and Mr. F. W. Watkyn-Thomas discusses the
When once a scientific theory is accepted as a working indications for the use of hearing-aids and the management
basis there is always the danger that it may be regarded of deaf patients generally. Professor Lambert Rogers sounds
as a proved fact, and critics of the theory may not be a warning about the seriousness of what is called in the
treated altogether fairly. For many years any doubt U.S.A. "wringer injury " : the patient is usually a child
cast on the atomic theory, even by recognized and dis- who has had its fingers, or even its whole arm, drawn into
tinguished physicists, was frowned upon. Theologians the electrically operated wringer of a obscure modern washing-
are not the only persons who dogmatize. For many machine. Among descriptions of more conditions,
years the theory of evolution by natural selection has that of Q fever is particularly worth reading. As in past
the volume is copiously illustrated, and there are the
held the field. but from a perusal of this book it is clear years,
usual lists of pharmaceutical preparations and books of the
that it may not prove to be the complete answer to the year. In spite of the greatly increased costs of production
question of man's origin. the price of this year's Medical Annual is only half a crown
V. ZACHARY COPE. more than last year's volume.

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