World Science Report 1993.

UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, 1993 278 pp. $40/FF220 ISBN 92-3-102938-X

World Science Report 1993, the first of a new series to be produced by UNESCO every other year, is an extraordinary achievement. UNESCO Director-General Frederico Mayor, educated as a biochemist, says in the preface: "The publication of any document which purports to be a comprehensive and up-to-date report on a subject as complex as science and technology is a hazardous exercise." Espedally difficult was the challenge to create a work that would be of interest to experts, as well as non-specialists, on the state of science worldwide. The challenge was met and the hazards overcome with clear writing and a well planned four-part book. In the first, experts review the condition of research and development region by region, an exercise that reveals how unequal the situation is. Part two considers the organization and measurement of scientific activity. International cooperation in science and technology, critical for implementing "Agenda 21", is then discussed. Finally, experts survey recent developments in mathematics, physics (including astronomy), chemistry and biology. With its illustrations, bibliographies and statistical tables, this volume offers both the eye and mind a feast.