Customer Reviews

Sternberg's Diagnostic Surgical Pathology (2-Volume Set)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Of course Sternberg is one of the leading sources of general surgical pathology information and the book lives up to its reputation with adequate discussions of each topic with relatively good microscopic descriptions and information on special stains (unlike the new Rosai/Ackerman). However,consistently, he gives the name of an entity in one place in the books/volumes and then every where else it is only reffered to by its abbreviation. So now if you don't remember the abbreviation you have to hunt for it ealier in the chapter or in other chapters all together. And of course the abbreviation is not in the glossary nor is there a seperate index of abbreviations. I find that this adds unnecessary distractions and time to what should be smooth studying.

When I initially received my copies of the new Sternberg I was concerned that the volumes' lighter weight would translate into deficits in content. After using the new edition during two busy months on the surg path service, however, I have found it to be even more substantive than its predecessor (apparently we can thank the new edition's improved portability to slightly thinner pages and smaller text). Because I store my old edition at work and my new copies at home, there have been multiple instances when, after initially reviewing a section while previewing at the office, I have returned home and been met with a more reader-friendly and content-rich review in the new edition. Even without these improvements the new edition would be worth purchasing for the images alone. The quantity and quality of the images are greatly improved from the previous edition, and the photographs almost uniformly lack the awkward blue backgrounds, poor contrast, overbearing fuchsias etc. that plague so many pathology publications. While some readers have taken issue with the changes in tone and areas of redundancy inherent to a multi-authored book, I have found it far more reassuring to take advice from the experts in each field than from a single source. I have minor complaints about certain subtopics, most notably the portion on vascular tumors of the bone, but overall have found the new edition to be an excellent investment.

This is an excellent book. It is helpful to have a single reference for the vast majority of your needs in surgical pathology. Obviously, it can't be everything. You sacrifice consistent style for the variety of authors -- similarly this translates into some sections being easier to use than others. Also, at times I want more pictures, but then this is not an atlas. Overall, I have found most of the sections to be of high quality, with good information and good pictures. I am very happy with my purchase.

Recommendations for the next edition:
1. even more pictures
2. even more charts comparing diseases or features
3. inset boxes with key features in each disease

A highly uneven text. Lucid chapters are interspersed with idiosyncratic (and, frankly, poorly-written) ones. The occasional chapter rambles its convoluted way to near-incomprehensibility. Many entities have key descriptive features buried within verbiage. Picture reproduction is (very) unsatisfactory, with a chromatic skew towards pink. Picture size has shrunk from the previous edition. The font is perversely minuscule, and extremely thin paper is used (those of us who highlight - pick one's pen wisely, or the other printed page might well be ruined). This latest edition of a classic text is still worth spending time (and money) on (not least for the incorporation of latest WHO classifications and IHC stains). The recommendation cannot but be with many reservations though.

In speciality books I like the ones with the precise information, easy to find. Personally, when I compare Sternberg and Ackerman, for me Sternberg has a lot of tables which can be used for the references, the text has no "water" (the big sin of Ackerman, in my opinion). Also, of course, the question of price - it's much more cheap.

I thought the book was excellent. I found most sections to be clear and easy to read. The pictures are very high quality. Rosai has a better thyroid chapter, but otherwise I find this to be an excellent resource for surgical pathology.

I have several problems with this text. The quality of this textbook varies drastically chapter to chapter. Many entities are poorly described. I often have to supplement my reading by going to [...]. There are also glaring organization/editing issues with this text. For instance, take the soft tissue tumor chapter. Entities like DFSP and Giant cell fibroblastoma are grouped under fibrohistiocytic lesions along with benign fibrous histiocytoma. Variants of fibrous histiocytoma are described two pages later without any continuity with fibrous histiocytoma. I feel as though things were thrown together at the last minute to make a printing deadline.

This is an enormous accomplishment and overall very good. Compared to Rosai, Sternberg benefits clearly from the advantage of multiauthorship (a generally very high level of expertise in every section--NO one even Rosai can be entirely on top of this range of material) and suffers from the disadvantage of multiauthorship (widely differing writing styles and writing skill-some chapters of Sternberg really needed more editorial control)
The level of completeness and depth here IS impressive and does overall exceed Rosai BUT it has led to one substantial and unfortunate decision. In order to get so much into 2 volumes that could be lifted by a normal human being without fear of omni-sphincteric herniation, the decision was made to downsize the print size significantly ?6. This really hampers the ability to read the book for any period of time and reduces it to a "pick it up and put it down (quickly)" reference source. One could peer into this book for a specific question. However anyone attempting to plow through even a chapter written with this tiny print size, (much less read this cover to cover) would need a large hand lens and a bottle of Advil. Even if a 3rd volume was required, I think readability should have been the preferred choice over compact completeness.
I hope Rosai has one more edition in him!

The content of the book is thorough, although some authors do a much better job organizing their chapters than others do. The big advantage of this series lies in the histologic descriptions of each pathologic entity. That being said, a *huge* drawback is the sloppy editing. There are numerous misspellings, incorrect or inconsistent information, and mislabeling of figures - inexcusable in a fifth edition. These inaccuracies are frustrating, and I constantly question whether or not the information I'm reading is actually correct. Whenever I sit down to read, I keep a bottle of white-out nearby to correct the numerous mistakes I find. If you're looking for a surg path textbook, I'd recommend buying Rosai.

I am really greatful for your services!The books arrived in Greece from USA within 15 days,much earlier than the message from amazon referred.Moreover the products arrived in perfect condition!That was the bigger surprise for me as,to tell you the truth,I expected that there would be at least some little damage(don't forget the journey of 11000Km)or,worst,the books would arrive in pieces.Nothing of this happened and now I have the confidence to create a whole medical library from you.thank you again amazon!