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. Of course there is plenty of text which is in depth and highly readable and contains more than enough details for most people with an interest in dermatology. There are contributors from North America and some from all over the world making this book relevant to the global community.

I have always had a personal interest in dermatology and books and this new 4^th edition represents a collision of both of these interests. So I was delighted to look at this offering and put very simply, I was extremely impressed. Rare and common topics are covered in appropriate and often not surprisingly, in significant detail and it always helps that there is an impressive range of illustrations to amplify the text. This is a marvellous reference source for anyone with a strong interest in dermatology. It simply oozes class.

Not only is it a detailed reference source but a great book to simply open up and read interesting chapters and sections. It seems to cover a huge amount of dermatology associated material and retains its clinical focus throughout. I suspect most dermatologists and healthcare professionals would be very happy to own or have access to this latest edition. It is also a member of the publisher’s excellent expertconsult.com series. This means within the price, there is bundled with it access to a website that has the whole content of the book and it is easy to navigate around and drill down to the desired section. There is also a link to multimedia resources, including a link to an online image collection. An owner of this book is also entitled to download the app based version for their smartphone or tablet and that allows full access to this book on the move. It does mean a whopping 4.49GB download, so you need to have enough space on your device to accommodate this large download. In saying that, this brings home how large this resource actually is.

Considering the physical size of the books, the digital spin offs and the depth, detail and knowledge stored within the resource; it does make you think what a huge effort this has been not only to produce this book but update it to the latest edition. Taking this into account, it does make the price a little more understandable. Sure it is a big price but this buys a great product and if your interest is dermatology, I suspect you will be very impressed with this offering.

Dr Harry Brown

January 2018