Edited By George Stouffer, Marschall Runge, Cam Patterson and Joseph Rossi

ISBN 978-0-323-54726-0

Published by Elsevier (September 2018)

Price £73.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/netters-cardiology-9780323547260.html

This book is simply superb. I am of the generation who fondly remembers the original fabulous Frank Netter, a gifted medical artist of the last century. In order to understand more about the images which gives some insight into this book, read https://www.netterimages.com/artist-frank-h-netter.html Netter died in 1991 and some of his original images did need updating and indeed the image bank is updated to the modern era by other contributors including https://www.netterimages.com/artist-carlos-a-g-machado.html

So it goes without saying that this book is illustrated to an excellent degree but this is not simply a textbook of illustrations. It is a textbook of cardiology as well with significant amounts of texts to give this a general textbook feel and presentation. The production values are high and the pages of the hardback are produced on glossy paper which gives the book a coffee table book feel. However that should detract from the quality of educational content within this book. It is of a high order and within the 540 pages, there is an excellent, readable and of course well illustrated review of cardiology. It is well written and interesting and very relevant to clinical practice. It is ideal for a wide range of healthcare professionals including those in primary and secondary care and although it may be a little too detailed for some medical students, others will find it an excellent resource.

This book oozes excellence in production values, illustrations (not surprisingly since it is branded as Netter) but from a reader point of view, the quality of information is excellent. It packs in a lot of cardiology and the text amplifies the superb images and vice versa. So not surprisingly the reader experience (in my humble view) is of high quality. It manages to achieve being both a good clinical reference source whilst it is also easy to dip in and read a small section. I enjoyed reading through this book and picking out relevant sections and found it educational and easy to read. It performs very well as a general, all purpose cardiology textbook for a broad spectrum of potential users.

This book comes with the publisher’s digital version which is available as a web based version and as an app for a smartphone or tablet. The app on my phone was 445 MB so make sure you have the space for it. This adds to the value of the purchase and although this book likes pricey, for the appropriate owner, it represents great value for money. Think of it as a good general all purpose cardiology textbook that would be ideal for a general physician or those with an interest in cardiology or early cardiology trainees. Equally it would suffice for someone wanting an update on cardiology with the added plus of superb illustrations.

 

Dr Harry Brown

November 2018