Mountaineering First Aid. Martha J. Lentz, Stephen C. Macdonald and Jan D. Carline. The Mountaineers, Seattle, 1985. 112 pages, black and white illustrations. $4.95.

This first-aid booklet is a gem. It presents the immediate care of mountain environment injuries with a staccato style that sticks with you.

First aid, goals, assessments, treatment and prevention are delivered clearly and briskly. The format is excellent, with large type highlighting paragraph headings and numbers, dots and boxes emphasizing important medical points. Summaries of basic information and principles are frequently interspersed with the text. This is aided by signs and symptoms checklists and abetted with stepwise descriptions of treatment techniques. The cartoon illustrations are memorable.

Newly updated, this first-aid handbook has been field-tested for fourteen years in the Mountaineering Oriented First Aid (MOFA) course given by the Seattle-King County Chapter of the American Red Cross and The Mountaineers. These two vigorous and dedicated organizations are outstanding in teaching mountaineering safety and medicine. Their success with this booklet is its highest recommendation.

Weighing in at a mere five ounces, it should be in every climber’s rucksack, for both self defense and friendly aid.

Michael Wiedman, M.D.