820 Book reviews

Medical mycology. The pathogenic fungi and pathogenic actinomycetes John Willard Rippon, Ph.D., ed. 2, Philadelphia, 1982, W. B. Saunders Co., 864 pages. $55.

For those of you who thought that Rocky II and Rocky. llI were not as good as Rocky I or The Empire Strikes Back not as good as Star Wars, then relax, because Rippon's second edition of Medical Mycology is better than the first one. This rust-colored, standard-sized textbook, embossed with gold lettering on a background of Candida albicans, contains 255 more informative pages than the previous edition. The format is essentially the same, consisting of five parts: "I . Pathogenic Act inomyces" ; "II. The Pathogenic Fungi"; "[II. Allergic Disease, Mycetismus and Myco- toxicosis"; " IV. Pharmacology of Antimycotic Drugs"; and "V. Laboratory Mycology ."

Removed from this edition is a section on tax- onomy and fungal genetics, although [ believe that the bulk of this information is still included in a section on "Characteristics of Fungi" (Chapter VI). Also added in this edition is a separate sec- tion in Part V on common contaminants, as well as an expanded section on pseudallescheriasis, commonly found in other textbooks under the heading of "Al lescher ias is ." Part IV on an- timycotic drugs is as up-to-date as can be ex- pected; however, it might be best to consult your journals for current therapy, especially in regard to the use of ketaconazole. For example, according to the author, "serious side effects, as of this writ-

Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology

ing, have not been reported with ketoconazole." Of course, readers know that this drug is not as relatively safe as thought to be, as evidenced by the reviews and comments by Stern, 1 Strauss, ~ and Hanifin a in this JOURNAL.

The quality of the black and white pictures in the textbook is excellent, and, as with the first edition, color slides are available from the pub- lisher (cost?), which 1 am sure could serve as val- uable audiovisual aids for one's self or adjuncts in formal instruction of medical mycology.

The author is commended for fulfilling with this book his goals of understanding fungal taxonomy, presenting the varied manifestations of clinical disease, elucidating antimycotic therapy, and providing new insights into the basic mechanisms of fungal pathogenicity. I feel that this textbook will be mentioned in the same breath as are the classics by Conant et al, Emmons et al, and others.

Frank T. Boysia, Ph.D., M.D. Florence, SC

REFERENCES 1. Stern RS: Ketaconazole: Assessing its risks. J AM ACAD

DERMATOL 6:544, 1982. 2. Strauss JS: Ketaconazole and the liver. J AM ACAD

DERMATOL 6:546-547, 1982. 3. Hanifin JM: Review of Levine HB, editor: Ketaconazole

in the management of funga[ diseases. Sydney, Australia, 1982, Australasian Drug Information Services Press, 153 pages. J AM ACAD DERMATOL 6:563, 1982.

ERRATUM

The book review on page 692 of the November issue of the Jou RNA L should have read as follows:

Celiae-sprue and the gluten free diet Pat Murphy Garst, M. Stevens Agency, P.O. Box 3004, Frankfort, KY 40603. 157 pages, $7.95, postpaid.

Also, in line 6 the author's name should be spelled Garst.