High Altitude Physiology and Medicine. Edited by Walter Brendel and Roman A. Zink. Springer Verlag, New York and Berlin, 1982. 316 pages. $65.

High Altitude Physiology and Medicine is a collection of forty-nine papers presented at a symposium on high altitude held in Germany in 1980 and sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation. The majority of the articles are by Europeans, with significant contributions from South America and Asia. Although most are written in medical terms, primarily for health professionals, sixteen sections relate directly to mountaineering and illnesses attributable to high altitude. Not surprisingly some of the statements are at variance with what we accept as gospel in this country—and such variants are stimulating and welcome. Many of the papers have been given elsewhere, but as a collection this is a refreshing and valuable book.