accurate record keeping and documentation should berequired reading for all new casualty o�cers, as shouldthe rest of the book!

A. DurraniUniversity College Hospital,

London, UK

0020-1383/00/$ - see front matter 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

PII: S0020-1383(99 )00286 -7

Orthopaedics and Fractures;Ronald McRae. Churchill-Livingstone, 528 pp. ISBN:0443-059257, 1999, Price: £15.95.

A condensation of his two previous books, PracticalFracture Management and Clinical Orthopaedic Exam-ination, the former of which at least probably gracesmost A+E departments in the UK, Orthopaedics andFractures o�ers the reader an excellent, concise ``vademecum'' in all basic topics required for an introductionto the subject. It is aimed at a similar audience to theprevious two works, viz. juniors doctors and medicalstudents, and throughout maintains the correct level ofdetail neither to bore not to ba�e.

The layout of the book is clear, with a large amountof diagrams and interesting radiographs which comp-lement the text. The amount of information containedis large, explaining why the pages sometimes feel a lit-tle crowded, but the index allows easy access andcross-referencing to other associated topics. The book

is divided into two sections which largely follow thetopics covered in McRae's previous books; the ®rstdeals with general orthopaedic principles and examin-ation, containing details of various important con-ditions and syndromes which may be uncovered in theclinical setting; the second deals with the mechanisms,classi®cation and treatment of the commonest frac-tures. Each chapter covers a separate joint system orbone, again allowing ease of access to the required in-formation.

In a ®eld where the trend is towards pocket bookreading, supplemented by occasional dips for referenceinto larger tomes, Orthopaedics and Fractures deliversthe necessary facts which surgical trainees and studentswill require in a palatable and portable format. I sus-pect it will be a favourite.

Phillip JohnstonRoyal Free Hospital,

London, UK

0020-1383/00/$ - see front matter 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

PII: S0020-1383(99 )00287 -9

Book Reviews / Injury, Int. J. Care Injured 31 (2000) 277±278278