Meyers WM, editor:

Pathology of Infectious Diseases, Volume 1: Helminthiases, 530 pp, Washington, DC, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, American Registry of Pathology, 2000 ($145).

There are few if any pathogens that are more photogenic than helminths. Likewise, there are few that have fancier names (I picked as my favorite Archiacanthocephala, known already to Leeuwenhoek, whose curiosity, I learned from the book, made him examine the intestines of the eel!!). Unquestionably a fascinating topic for a well-illustrated book. And here it is, appearing as Volume 1 of the long-expected update of two encyclopedic works that preceded it over the past 50 years.

In my position as a hospital pathologist, I will rarely encounter most of those worms that are described in this book, and I almost feel sorry that I will not have an excuse to open this book on a daily basis for consultation. Nevertheless, even if you do not need it for day-to-day diagnostic work, you would be well advised to have it handy. It is probably the best practical manual and guide to helminthic diseases. There are several other books on this and related themes, but the beauty of the pictures, assembled in this book for our viewing pleasure, would make me rank this book one notch above all others in this category. Most of the pictures deserve to be rated as excellent (except for a few old black and white photos), but the beauty of some illustrations cannot be adequately described, without waxing poetic or schmaltzy. For morphologists like me, these pictures are a real treat and a source of wonderment as well as delight. It is a book that I will keep handy, and I will open it to my students when trying to explain why I decided to become a pathologist.

The text that accompanies the pictures is succinct and annotated with current references. It is written clearly, without jargon, and it is remarkably well edited. It complements well the photographs.

This book heralds a new era of publishing at AFIP, and we should all applaud the team that stands behind it. It is a major new step in the right direction, and we all are to be the beneficiaries—of course if the other books that follow turn out to be as beautiful as this one.