5^th edition

Lead Editors. Myron Yanoff and Jay Duker

Published by Elsevier (October 2018)

ISBN 978-0-323-52819-1

Price £257.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/ophthalmology-9780323528191.html

Just simply looking at this book generates a “wow” it is a massive yet handsome hardback book that runs to just over 1400 pages. It is a heavy book to lift and in a way is a throwback to the good old-fashioned medical textbook tomes that we used to see. In itself that description is a complement, however this is no old-fashioned textbook. This is a superb modern uptodate textbook of eye disorders that covers its topic in superb detail. This is a proper textbook that is a great resource.

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Edited by Mehul J. Desai

ISBN 978-0-19-935094-0

Published July 2018 by Oxford University Press

Price £81

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-spine-handbook-9780199350940

I was impressed by the title as not many books concentrate on the spine (from top to bottom and more) in such a way. So this is a refreshing and interesting method to review an important human structure that can cause so many clinical problems which are often not always easy to treat. The title states “handbook” understates it’s impressive and detailed contents as this is a chunky 66o page good sized book that covers it’s topic in ample and impressive detail.

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Edited by Pallav Shah, Felix Herth, Y C Gary Lee and Gerald Criner

1^st Edition

Published CRC Press published October 2018

ISBN  978-1-4441-8646-8

Price £ 95.20

https://www.crcpress.com/Essentials-of-Clinical-Pulmonology/Shah-Herth-Lee-Criner/p/book/9781444186468

I am sometimes a little wary of first editions of medical textbooks as there is a steep learning curve needed to produce a good quality medical textbook. However great credit should go to the editors, who have produced a very fine general textbook of respiratory medicine which deserves to have a wide readership. It is an excellent post graduate book which will be ideal for respiratory physicians as well as primary care staff. I would suspect a GP would find this a very useable book which could probably be the only respiratory textbook they will require for most educational needs. Trainees in chest medicine will also find this an excellent companion in their journey.

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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

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By Alastair Denniston and Philip Murray

4^th edition

Published 2018 by Oxford University Press

Price £38.99

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-handbook-of-ophthalmology-9780198804550

This excellent handbook has now reached a mature 4^th edition and it certainly keeps up to the excellent tradition and high standards set by other members of the superb Oxford medical handbook series. Published this year, hopefully it will be uptodate and like other members of the Oxford medical handbook series, it is easy to read as well as being clear and practical. In particular, it is pitched at the level needed by a healthcare professional dealing with clinical problems common and less common.

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Donald Grosset, Katherine Grosset, Michael Okun and Hubert Fernandez

Manson Publishing Third impression 2011, CRC Press

Paperback Price ISBN: 978-1-13811-372-5 £ 59.99

Hardback Price ISBN 978-1-84076-101-6 £160.00

https://www.crcpress.com/Parkinsons-Disease-Clinicans-Desk-Reference/Grosset-Fernandez-Grosset-Okun/p/book/9781840761016

If you have a particular interest in a disease, it can sometimes be useful to have a dedicated book concentrating on that specific disease. Depending on your needs, some people prefer a slim and readable volume that they can read in its entirety and it contains all the relevant knowledge that they need for their clinical work. Parkinson’s disease stretches across a number of specialties as well as involving a number of healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines. Many of these people would benefit from such a book. This well written book, for many people would fit the bill as well as being a fitting addition to any suitable library. However for a relatively slim volume, it is quite expensive but the good news is that the publishers are shortly bringing out a paperback edition priced at more competitive £59.99 (see the URL above)

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12^th edition

Edited By Morris Brown, Pankaj Sharma, Fraz Mir and Peter Bennett

ISBN 978-0-7020-7328-1

Published by Elsevier (May 2018)

Price £44.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/clinical-pharmacology-9780702073281.html

In the preface of the book, the authors state that “In this computer age, a textbook still plays a coveted role” and I agree. Of course there is a massive volume of information out there in the online world, some of it is accurate and trustworthy and some of it less so. However, there is still the pull of having a physical book on the bookshelf and thumbing through it and adding to your knowledge. In my humble opinion, it will be some time before paper and traditional paper textbooks will become a historical curiosity only available in a museum.

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By Lesley Bowker, James Price, Ku Sha and Sarah Smith

3^rd edition

Published 2018 by Oxford University Press

Price £34.99

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-handbook-of-geriatric-medicine-9780198738381?cc=gb&lang=en&

This is another excellent addition to the ever growing and regularly updated Oxford Medical Handbook series. This new edition is a very helpful addition to anyone wanting to be up-to-date in the field of geriatric medicine. It is ideal for healthcare professionals working with elderly people and being published this year, it does seems very uptodate.

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Second edition

Edited by Ronni Wolf, Lawrence Parish and Jennifer Parish

Published CRC Press published 2017

ISBN  978-1-4987-2931-4

Price £79.20

https://www.crcpress.com/Emergency-Dermatology-Second-Edition/Wolf-Parish-Parish/p/book/9781498729314

I remember many years ago, a very experienced dermatologist telling me that one big plus of being a dermatologist is that there is little emergency work to be involved in. Well times have moved on and this book provides a valuable insight into emergency dermatology. In fact, this book gives a fascinating and a very specific insight into a particular branch of dermatology that is maybe not seen or highlighted that often.

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20^th edition

Published by Merck Sharp and Dohme Corporation

ISBN 978-0-911910-42-1

Price £59.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/the-merck-manual-of-diagnosis-and-therapy-9780911910421.html

Editor in Chief Robert Porter

Before I go any further, I should mention a couple of points, I have done some work for the pharmaceutical company whose subsidiary is behind this book and I have used this book since I qualified a number of years ago. It is important to stress that this book is a highly acclaimed global textbook of medicine which is completely independent of the company associated with it.

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Edited By Drew Provan 4^th edition

Published 2018 by Oxford University Press

Price £32.99

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-handbook-of-clinical-and-laboratory-investigation-9780198766537?cc=gb&lang=en&

Being a member of the superb Oxford Handbook series, I automatically assume this book will be very good and in fact put very simply, it is very good and certainly lives up to its heritage. It is an excellent book and runs to just under a 1000 page and is fairly substantial. The subject matter is excellent and in fact it is a subject which is highly relevant for many healthcare professionals in general disciplines such as general medicine as well as primary care.

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27^th Edition (Published 2018)

Edited by Norman Williams, P.Ronan O’Connell and Andrew McCaskie

Published CRC Press

ISBN  978-1-138-03166-1

Price £189

https://www.crcpress.com/Bailey–Loves-Short-Practice-of-Surgery-27th-Edition/Williams-OConnell-McCaskie/p/book/9781498796507

This book simply smacks of class; I have had the privilege of reviewing the hardback edition which is a robust and physically heavy book. It is heavy to lift and looks an impressive addition to the bookshelf but the word “short” as expressed in the book’s title, it certainly is not. This is a powerful heavyweight textbook that seems to cover most surgical specialties and is suitable for a global audience. Even better, its appeal is widespread throughout various sectors of the medical and surgical community.

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Conn’s Current Therapy 2018

70^th Anniversary edition

Edited by Rick Kellerman and Edward Bope

Published by Elsevier (January 2018)

Price £73.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/conns-current-therapy-2018-9780323527699.html

I doubt if many medical textbooks can compete with the badge of honour of sprouting a 70^th edition (yes seventy) but this book can proudly claim this honour. It first appeared in 1948 and is still here in 2018. This means this book becomes a huge and always in progress, impressive body of work which is in constant evolution.

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10^th edition

Edited by Ashley Blom, David Warwick and Michael Whitehouse

ISBN 978-1-78523-126-1

Price £155

https://www.crcpress.com/Apley–Solomons-System-of-Orthopaedics-and-Trauma-10th-Edition/Blom-Warwick-Whitehouse/p/book/9781498751674

Published December 17 by CRC Press

There is always a demand for a good general orthopaedics book that will be of use to both a specialist and a generalist such as a GP. This book fits neatly into this category and is now in a very mature 10^th edition, it is British and is very up to meeting the demands of the modern healthcare professional.

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6^th Edition

By Barbara Aehlert

ISBN 978-0-323-40130-2

Published by Elsevier (October 2017)

Price £47.99

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/ecgs-made-easy-9780323401302.html

It is well worth reading the preface to this new book as it will give a valuable insight into the ethos of the book. The author is based in the USA and has written an easy to understand guide to interpreting ECGs. I think she has succeeded and has produced a well illustrated and most of important of all, an easy to understand guide to ECGs. It is really nicely illustrated and the text is chopped up into small segments and is logical in its approach. Its style is clear, very understandable but informative and and concise. I suspect that many of us who will approach this book, will have some basic understanding of ECGs. Even so, this book does plenty of handholding in an engaging and relaxed reading style.

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4^th Edition

Edited by Jean Bolognia, Julie Schaffer and Lorenzo Cerroni

Published by Elsevier (November 2017)

Price £388.49

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/dermatology-2-volume-set-9780702062759.html

Just for the moment, ignore the price tag and read on. This massive 2 volume set is an incredible and beautifully produced text and very visually based, as well as seemingly being a comprehensive textbook of dermatology. Each of the two large volumes is a well constructed hard back and each volume is heavy and big and the production values of both volumes are superb. There are oodles of illustrations, tables and pictures and the quality of reproduction is excellent.

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