Customer Reviews

Harrison's Manual of Medicine, 15/e for PDA

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I understand the intention of Harrison's editors to provide us with a little version of this standard textbook, but honestly, I don't like it. I have owned several editions of this book, but I have never used it, because it is not a practical book. It is short in practical details (like disease management) and long in some other details. If you are looking for a handbook that can help you in clinical practice, forget about this one. There are so many better books out there (Washington, Ferri's,...). This book can be helpful for medical students to review medicine before exams or rotations. However, I have to say that new edition is much better than previous ones. At least it has more algorithms. Also, stay away from PDA version. It is even more stripped down! For your PDA, I highly recommend Ferri's Practical Guide or Washington Manual or 5 Minutes Clinical Consult.

This is an excellent resource for those questions that need quick, consise answers. The chapters for Harrison's Principles of Internal medicine are neatly summarized into quick-reading two or three page summaries, with many helpful charts and management tips. Depth and underlying pathophysiology is not well covered, but that's what the big book (Principles) is for. My only complaint is that with this edition, the book is about 5"x8", which doesn't fit into my coat pocket. The companion to the 14th edition (4"x6") is virtually identical in information, and fits in my pocket.

I bought this book at the beginning of my 3rd year medicine rotation and used it for several weeks. It was good... but I did not find the layout and algorithms to be user friendly. It has the information.. but I found myself searching in various sections to find what I needed many a time. Overall a good book, but having experimented with others for my other medicine and family medicine rotations, I would recc that you peruse through either Medicine Recall, Consult Manual of Internal Medicine, &/or Pocket Medicine. All are great... and have different styles. Its simply a matter of personal preferance.

I have used the other editions mainly as a reference to many medical conditons which I hear about in my practice as a psychiatrist. As usual,the latest text provides the information but there is no attempt to bullet or separate out the most important stuff - and no beautiful color diagrams as in Cecil's. Of its many strengths, the HIV chapter is authored by Anthony Fauci at NIH, a renowned international AIDS expert. If you want to keep up to date the ...price is a bargain. If you are a student choose what is most helpful to your style and use the study guide for board practice.

This handbook is meant for doctors in the wards but cannot be called "Harrison in Hand". It can never be a substitute for that book. The algorithms are mind boggling if a physician has no access to the bigger text. It is nothing but a consolation of having the bigger text in hand.
Professor K.N.Viswanathan , AVMC, Pondicherry, India.

Big, complete and one of the most renowned books of internal medicine. Only the index could be more completely and the pictures could have been coloured. Instead of showing the genetic background
some practical approaches should sometimes have been emphasized more.

I think this is a good buy but it needs better navigation to find certain topics within the book since this is mostly a reference on the fly while on the wards seeing patients. Otherwise I think one can manage and search patiently for the topic of interest. My suggestion is to have an area to type in topic of interest, similar to when online and different chapters pop up in which the topic is discussed.

Not as in depth as I would have liked, but I guess it's hard to do that in a "coat-sized" book. Overall, it's okay ... just nothing that lights my world on fire.

I felt a little rusty coming near to my 4th year so I bought it. It is a good buy. Huge scope of topics.

Since the full-size Harrison's is rather...full-sized, this book is a good reference to take with you for studying at the hospital. It has good differentials of common patient presentations and covers the basics of common diagnoses and treatment.