in the United States, seen through the eyes of any member of a British police force with little knowledge of police administration in the U.S.A. it appears to display an incredibly slow-moving inauguration of responsibility for dealing with a major disaster involving declarations and proclamations of "States of Emergency" or "States of Local Peril" and the apparent subjugation of "Law Enforcement Agencies" to other civil powers which seem entirely foreign to the British concept of the part to be played by the police in the control of major disasters. I t demonstrates the disadvantages of decentralisation of police forces into State Police, Highway Patrol, City Police and Federal Agencies without central control.

In content the book is remarkably well set out and whilst it does not quite achieve its object the inclusion of several disaster case studies, the addition to the main text of various appendices dealing with American legislation covering mutual aid, and the discussion of disaster simulations give additional material useful for teaching purposes.

J. Anderson

POLICE IN TROUBLE

The Irish Police Seamus Breathnach (Anvil Books Ltd., Dublin, 1975, 223pp., 90p.)

To anyone interested in understanding more deeply the seemingly endless saga of "The Troubles" in Ireland, much will be found of interest in this readable little book.

Written by a student at the Irish Bar who is an ex-member of the Garda Siochana, the book sets out initially to give a brief but well documented account of the development of the forces of law and order, inevitably interwoven with the tragedy of Irish internal affairs, and culminating in 1922 with the disband- ing of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the formation of the two police forces that replaced it controlled by the respective governments of Eire and Northern Ireland.

Obviously drawing on his experience in the Garda Siochana, Breathnach analyses the separate developments of the two forces. Not surprisingly, con- sidering his background, although he has attempted to be impartial, he has expressed some highly subjective views in his conclusion that although there is much to look at critically in the Garda Siochana the force has responded better to the challenge of its daunting rBle than the disarmed and discredited Royal Ulster Constabulary.

Among the many questions unanswered is the possible solution to the problem attendant on the amalgamation of these two forces should a political decision involving the unification of Ireland ever occur.

To the advocates of a Nationalised Police Service in the United Kingdom there is some food for thought in the references to the political pressure brought to bear on both forces arising from Central Government control.

R.W.T.

ONE OUT OF FIVE

Handbook for Dental Identification Lester and Phyllis Luntz (J. B. L@incott Co., Philadelphia, Toronto, 1973; 194pp., index, E4.90.)

Probably less than five people in the world have identified alone over four hundred bodies using dental data only. Dr. Lester Luntz is one of these-a general dental practitioner who has been a State Police Officer for over fifteen

years. These are unique qualifications for writing what he and his wife modestly describe as a concise manual for the general dental practitioner, and a display of the aid which forensic dentistry can offer especially to medical, legal, police and forensic specialists. For these groups this is an interesting book with few references, but it is profusely illustrated-Dr. Luntz is an expert photographer. I t is well produced (only three minor spelling errors) although some X-rays and bite marks have given the printers trouble; but this is not uncommon.

I t is remarkable that mention is made of lingering doubt concerning the verdict of the Parkman-Webster case in Boston (1850), particularly after Parkman's confessional statement of murder to the Reverend Dr. Putnam. There has maybe been a dram of serendipity in the tale of these two Massa- chusetts or Harvard men, for the murderer studied also at Guy's Hospital and his victim at Aberdeen.

I t may be the intention of the authors to describe the collection of saliva samples as a very . . simple procedure; the procedure in the United Kingdom is rather more elaborate.

Again, possibly intentionally, bite marks are briefly and simply described in terms of simulation; certainly recent research considering pressures, stresses and surveillance has revealed that this may be a quite complex problem.

In addition to the five groups mentioned as targets by the authors for this book it could also be aimed at and indeed classified as essential reading for all interested in dental identification and especially those responsible for designing dental education.

Warren Harvey

LOOK AND LEARN

A Colour Atlas of Forensic Pathology G. Austin Gresham ( Wove Medical Books, London, 1975, 304pp., 295 illustrations, £7.00)

A Colour Atlas of General Pathology G. Austin Gresham (Wove Medical Books, London, 1971, 355f$., 435 illustrations, L7.00)

Some authors have the gift of capturing their audience by their vivid text. In A Colour Atlas of Forensic Pathology Professor Austin Gresham has succeeded by the use of colour photographs of such high technical standard and so well chosen that the equally carefully chosen words of the text are in danger of being overlooked, or at least overshadowed.

The book makes no mention of the audience to whom it is primarily ad- dressed but is left to find its own niche. The author being professor of morbid anatomy in the University of Cambridge one might have assumed that it was written with medical students in mind. Students would probably be the group least to benefit, lagging behind police officers, police surgeons and pathologists. Certainly police officers head the list of likely beneficiaries for they as a body probably see more of the injuries depicted hcre than any other single group, and this book used with discrimination could well help the officer, first on the scene, in the difficult decision of whether to take immediate action and treat as grave a group of injuries for which a comparatively innocent explanation may subsequently be forthcoming.

Nonetheless even with his beautiful economy in the use of the written word the author has chosen to emphasize a number of dicta of forensic pathology which are all too often forgotten, and which if they were observed by every