BOOK R~,vxv.ws 227

Dr. Cooklnham is survived by his daughter Billie Penzel of Puerto Rico, grand-daughters Deirdre of Spain and Juhe of Germany, and a son Michael of San Francisco. Also, grief and loss is felt by his nurse-secretary of 52 years, Peggy Shannon, and a host of friends and patients who loved him dearly.

In his long and useful life, he reaped many honours with modesty. He served as officer and president of professional societies and was a pillar of the Hahne- mann Hospital for some 60 years.

Memorial services were held at the Swedenborgian Church on 18 May 1977, the anniversary of the date of his graduation from medical school.

Donations in his memory are accepted by the San Francisco County Homeo- pathic Medical Society at 6200 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, California 94121.

AUF WIEDERSEttEN, ~CCOOKIE'~

Frederic W. Schmid, M.D., whom you affectionately called "Fri tz".

Book reviews

Good Health through Natural Therapy. By E. K. Ledermann. Kogan Page Ltd., London, 1976. s

Dr. Ledermann has produced a small but stimulating volume on the basic principles of Natural Therapy. In addition he discusses allied forms of therapy such as homceopathy, acupuncture, and manipulation. He considers the limitations of these forms of therapy as well as those of conventional medicine.

Fundamentally, the book deals with the concept of wholeness and the maintenance and restoration of good health by the consideration of the whole person. Natural Therapy seeks to achieve this firstly by breaking harmful habits such as smoking and alcohol dependence, and by the avoidance of inappropriate foods, drugs, and excessive tea and coffee. Secondly, it seeks to improve general health through the prescription of special diets, fasting, and various forms of stimulation and exercises for improving breathing, posture, general fitness and relaxation. The author shows how, despite the many advances of conventional medicine, the overall amount of ill health has, if anything, increased. He argues that many common serious ailments such as coronary artery disease and lung cancer are caused primarily by the mode of living of modern civilized man. He also considers the great increase in illness attributable to iatrogenie causes, but balances this against the limitations of Natural Therapy and the necessity, in certain situations, for surgery and drug therapy.

The chapters on diets and exercises are in general clear, and the author makes

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i t quite plain tha t the more drastic methods should only be undertaken under skilled supervision. The chapter on Natural Stimulation of the Skin describes some very interesting but gruelling t reatments recommended by various authorities. Some of these, ffearried out inappropriately, could also be hazardous. The author states the claims made for these methods, but unfortunately does not discuss their creditability in any great detail. Finally, Dr. Ledermann illustrates the methods of Natural Therapy, at t imes combined with other treatments, by considering some case histories. They demonstrate a sensible approach to problems and avoid extravagant claims of miraculous cures.

The book is clearly written and should be of interest to all those who t ry to take an holistie view of medicine. I t appears to be aimed mainly at the health- conscious general public, but the author has gone to considerable lengths to produce references. As many of these are from relatively littie-known sources, they could form a useful basis for anyone wishing to take up a serious study of the subject.

M I C H A E L J E N K I N S

Encyclopaedia of Homceopathy. By B. Prasad Gupta. Privately printed; sole distributors: Homeeopathie Agency, PO Box 2639, New Delhi 5. Price: 35 rupees (imitation leather, rupees 40). Pp. 991.

This book is essentially a materia mediea, covering about 600 remedies in a fair amount of detail. There is also a repertory and a short medical dictionary. I t is not entirely clear what sources Dr. Gupta has used in compiling this work, but the main ones appear to be t tahnemann ' s Materia Mediea Pura and Chronic Diseases.

Some of the remedies are discussed in considerable detail. The English is often odd, and some of the author 's claims seem rather intemperate; thus, for Belladonna one finds tha t this remedy "according to m y repeated experience is definitely an infallible remedy for patients of High Blood Pressure to save them from going to grave".

A great deal of work has obviously gone into this book, and it would be churl- ish and unfair to dismiss it out of hand. At the same time, it must be said that i t is far from being a first-line materia medica. Probably it would serve best as an occasional reference source for use when the standard books fail to suggest a suitable remedy.

A N T H O N Y C A M P B E L L