The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine/The Oxford Illustrated Companion to Medicine

Rarely does Student BMJ publish reviews of academic tomes or creaky door.stop textbooks. However, the quality of both of these books shines through. Comparisons of two such worthy works are invidious, but here (although not quite so evident in recent years in the Boat Race) the dark blues—Oxford—have it over the light blues—Cambridge—although, strictly speaking, they are not really in the same race. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine was first published in hardback in 1996 and reprinted in 2000. This is its first paperback edition, and very good it is too. Not pretending to be comprehensive, the authors contribute cogent and fascinating …