Goodman & Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics: Tenth Edition

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2002 by Eyer, Charles L

JOEL G. HARDMAN AND LEE E. LIMBIRD. Goodman & Gilman's: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics: Tenth Edition. New York, NY McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2001. xxvii 2148 pp., 288 figs., 221 tbls., $125.00.

For 60 years (first published in 1941) Goodman & Gilman has been a widely used pharmacology text. For the last 35 years, new editions have been published about every five years. The current edition follows the recent pattern of multi-authorship, with individual chapters written by authorities in their field. This newest version shows evidence of considerable updating. Even the famous fold-out diagram of the autonomic nervous system contains a new diagram of autonomic interaction with the enteric nervous system. Three new chapters covering Prokinetic Agents, Antiviral Agents, and Protein Synthesis Inhibitors have been added. Two chapters from the ninth edition dealing with drugs affecting uterine motility and treatment of migraine have been eliminated, and the material addressed in various chapters dealing with the respective drug classes. Over one-half of the contributors are new to this edition. New authorship is present in approximately one-third of the chapters.

The text begins with a section on general principles related to pharmacology followed by fifteen sections categorized by specific systems and further divided into 63 chapters on specific drug classes and therapeutic strategies. Two appendices, one on prescription order writing and one on pharmacokinetic data are also included. The text is heavily indexed and the 123-page index is comprehensive and easy to use. More than 500 figures and tables are scattered throughout the volume and, for the most part are helpful and understandable. While the extent of revision of the individual chapters varies, a significant number of new references have been added to each chapter since the last edition.

While the plethora of authors leads to some unevenness in the writing of different chapters, this reviewer did not find this very troublesome. Goodman & Gilman has never been a light reading book. The current edition is no exception, but it is a thorough and up-to-date text. It is the most comprehensive and detailed book in its field.

The tenth edition is a must-have book for faculty and graduate students. It will challenge undergraduate students, but is recommended as a reference/text with which they should be familiar and comfortable using.

Charles L. Eyer University of Montana