Hypothermia

which so comprehensively sketches out the problems of space travel and the most recent investigations. Russian as well as American results from telemetering artificial satellites are included and their value interpreted. The individual with competence in non-space biology will discover a useful and stimulating summary of research with references to papers which will carry him farther into intricacies than the authors choose to travel. One notes the dependency of early American space and aero-medical research upon the cadre of German scientists such as the Haber brothers, Gauer, Gerathewohl, and especially Hubertus Strughold. Also evident, although not stressed, is the damage done to our biological conquest of space by sudden and determined budget cutbacks prior to Sputnik. An austerity drive during the summer of 1957 stopped flights at the Holloman Aeromed-ical Field Laboratory investigating subgravity effects upon humans. The authors state, "this was one of the many examples of the difficulty of getting and keeping support for basic scientific research in our space program." From 1953 to 1957 only the Russians were working in the field of animal rockets. Three major problems in space travel are considered: the space vehicle, g-forces and weightlessness, and the radiation hazards. The historical aspects of each topic is discussed so that the non-expert can follow the eso-teric paths from where they first branch from our common experience. Although written with a rather bland style, the book reads quickly and interestingly and will be of great service to the citizens who would like to see pieced together, against a background of professional literature, the scattered reports of flight from the earth. The New York Academy of Sciences has devoted an entire issue to a review of the current concepts of hypothermia. To the student of hypother-mia, it is the most authoritative reference text on the subject and, therefore , is entitled to enthusiastic acceptance. This work can be regarded as a sequel to the first collective effort published in 1955 by the National Research Council entitled The Physiology of Hypothermia. The authorship and fundamental approach are almost identical. The information is related to the basic physiologic and biochemical changes that occur in hypo-thermia and much of it is presented in highly technical terms. Five chapters are devoted to functional changes in the heart. The threat of ventricular fibrillation is the most serious limitation on the clinical use of hypothermia. Whereas the cause of this arrhythmia remains …