American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 155, No. 5 : 485
Copyright © 2002 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
BOOK REVIEWS |
From the Editor
With two exceptions (1
, 2), selection of books for review in volumes 154 and 155 of the Journal has been arbitrary; that is, I have selected the titles for review (usually without reading the book) and solicited the reviewers. Thus, the Journal's Book Reviews section has come to represent largely the taste and judgment of one individual. Of course, the Editor-in-Chief oversees the Book Reviews section and guards against any egregious violations of propriety, but the question remains: Is this the best way to implement the Journal's Book Reviews section?
The two exceptions to the usual selection and review practice are instructive. In the first (1), John Last, an established senior investigator and author, wrote the Editor-in-Chief to strongly urge the review of a particular book he had read. He volunteered to write the review. I might or might not have identified this book for review, as it was subsequently reviewed in both The Lancet and Science. Clearly, Last's judgment was insightful and resulted in a useful and informative review. In the second exception (2), I had selected a book and assigned it to a reviewer, who had been seriously delinquent in submitting a review. Then a volunteer (Atsuko Shibata, a Stanford University cancer epidemiologist) wrote that she had read the book and would like to review it for the Journal. The result was another excellent review. In both cases, an epidemiologist had read a book and judged it worthy of review.
So, with the endorsement of the Editor-in-Chief, I now solicit suggestions from the Journal's readers for books to be reviewed and volunteers to review them. This process will augment and, it is hoped, largely supplant the present arbitrary selection process. If you read a book that you judge would be of interest to your epidemiologic peers, send me a full reference and I will obtain a review copy and designate you or your nominee to review it. You may send your suggestions by e-mail to ajebookreviews{at}yahoo.com.
REFERENCES
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Last J. Human frontiers, environments and disease. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;155:101–2.
[Free Full Text] -
Shibata A. Fundamentals of cancer epidemiology. (Book review). Am J Epidemiol 2002;155:385–6.
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