Richard Collin and Geoffrey Rose

(Editors) BMJ Books, London, 2001, £55.00, ISBN 0 7279 1457 8, 200 pp

It is always a pleasure to receive a parcel from our esteemed Editor, particularly when it contains a book and on a topic of great personal interest. The book is a volume in the Fundamentals of Clinical Ophthalmology Series under the overall editorship of Professor Lightman. The stated target audience of the series, is that of Ophthalmologists in Training and General Ophthalmologists wishing to update their knowledge. The editors of this volume are Messrs Collin and Rose, recognised authorities in their respective fields of oculo-plastics and orbits. They further define the purpose of their book as being to provide a practical guide to the management of basic oculo-plastic problems. Seventeen authors, all of whom have undertaken at least part of their training in Moorfields, with the Editors, contribute chapters. These cover the range of relevant anatomy and oculo-plastic, orbital and lacrimal disorders. Each of the 17 chapters stands alone. The chapters are adequately illustrated. Some of the illustrations are annotated, most are not, some of the line drawings are downright confusing.

The book does fulfil the stated aims of the authors. It is a pity that neither of them have contributed chapters. One of the problems of the text is the lack of uniform style. One or two minor errors have crept in, for example, Traquair is not spelt with an ‘e’ at the end. There is a need for a book that will help trainees prepare for the final part of the Membership Examinations and in particular prepare for the relevant section of the Exit Examinations. This does not fulfil that role. The pathology content is inadequate. In so far as it goes, it is a reasonable book and will be of interest to general ophthalmologists, although one suspects, less useful to trainees.