1987 Year Book of Rehabilitation.

1987 Year Book of Rehabilitation The intent of the editors of this annual review was to selectively search "the world literature and present to the readers the most pertinent published studies in the vast field of rehabilitation." To accomplish this intent, the two editors and seven contributing editors reviewed 700 journals, selecting for presentation articles from 106 different journals. Five physical therapy journals were among the 106. Articles are categorized under nine headings; exercise; clinical rehabilitation; assessment diagnosis; prosthetics, orthotics, devices; interdisciplinary rehabilitation; geriatrics; pain; surgery; and pharmacology.

The short article reviews (generally fewer than two pages) are well written. Many are followed by short commentaries. The commentaries help put the article contents in perspective, sometimes by making reference to specific earlier publications.

In spite of the publication's high quality, its value may be limited. Its content is more than a year old; clinicians therefore may find the material dated. I found only two articles of personal interest that I had not read already. Although the brevity of each review probably makes the book easy reading, I cannot recommend its purchase to physical therapists for personal use, for the reasons outlined above. An individual responsible for a departmental library or an institutional library, on the other hand, may wish to purchase the book. Where a large enough potential for use exists, the purchase price may be justifiable.