This latest addition to a crowded shelf is written by an experienced teacher, clinician, and medical writer who feels that previous authors have tried to be too mathematically and chemically oriented without being either mathematicians or chemists and that they have forgotten the patient. He lists a number of reasons why a new book is needed, including his observation that the entire problem of acid-base disturbance is in a state of confusion. To clear up this and other areas of confusion, the author presents the subject as it now appears to him. Many will find his presentation reasonable and worth the price. A few readers who compare the book with earlier, similar texts may feel that, although a slightly different viewpoint of the subject is presented, it is not enough of an important to prevent continued spread of the disease. The book is organized into five parts, thirty-two chapters, and