Parts and by extensive cross-referencing. Although there of course remain differences in 

 style among the chapters, the result is a very readable and stimulating whole. The related- 

 ness of plant and animal data is very well brought out throughout the text. Moreover, the 

 treatment is as up to date as can be desired in such a collaborative undertaking. 



Of course there always remain grounds for criticism. In one of the areas with which 

 this reviewer is most familiar, it has been obvious to him that the author of ch.3.6 (Pat- 

 tern formation in animal embryos) is not intimately acquainted with amphibian embryo- 

 genesis or its literature. This is most apparent in his neglect of mesoderm induction in the 

 blastula, a phenomenon discovered by Nieuwkoop and others about a decade ago. (Al- 

 though the chapter contains interesting ideas it is written in a rather out-of-the-way man- 

 ner.) The same criticism applies to ch.3.4 (Embryonic induction), which has a somewhat 

 parochial reference list; moreover, it uses the important notion of competence but fails 

 to define it. 



The numerous illustrations, both photographs and drawings, have good captions and 

 add greatly to the value of the text; some of the diagrams are feats of didactic clarity. The 

 index is extensive. 



3. 



P. J. HOGARTH. 1976. VIVIPARITY 



Arnold, London. Studies in Biology no. 75. IV, 68 pp., 24 figs., 2 tabs. £ 3.00 (cloth), 



£ 1.50 (paper) 



This is a selective but useful survey of the very varied types of viviparity found in 

 many vertebrate groups as well as invertebrates. Ovoviviparity is included because it can- 

 not be distinguished reliably from true viviparity. The line drawings are very simple and often 

 insufficiently labelled. There is a glossary pertaining to reproductive horm'ones and a 

 useful reading list. 



4. 



A. C. NEVILLE. 1976. ANIMAL ASYMMETRY 



Arnold, London. Studies in Biology 67. IV, 60 pp., 51 figs., 5 tabs. £ 2.60 (cloth), $ 1.30 



(paper) 



This little book is fun to read and, though far from exhaustive, gives many interesting 

 examples of morphological, developmental and functional asymmetries. However, it is 

 too synoptic and too incompletely documented to perform a useful function for the re- 

 searcher. It raises many questions but hardly begins to provide the answers. The illustra- 

 tions are simple but adequate. 



5. 



F. SEIDEL. 1975-1976. ENTWICKLUNGSPHYSIOLOGIE DER TIERE. U and HI. 2nd. 



ed. 



de Gruyter, Berlin, etc. Sammlung Goschen Band 2601, 2602 



Band II (1975) Bildung der Korpergrundgestalt. 238 pp., 47 figs., author and subject 



indexes. DM 19.80 (paper) 



Band III (1976) Morphologische und histologische Differenzierung der Organe. 199 pp., 



33 figs., author and subject indexes. DM 19.80 (paper) 



The first part (1972) of this three-part text was reviewed in Gen. Embryol. Inf. Serv. 

 15,2, 1 974. The laudatory first paragraph of that review on the whole applies equally to the 

 present two books, yet this reviewer feels more critical about them. The major subdivi- 

 sions of the original book, which is now almost a quarter of a century old, have been 

 retained, and because the incorporation of newer data has been erratic the books defini- 

 tely impress one as somewhat dated. 



Although the presentation of the older data remains excellent, there are curious gaps 

 in th'^ newer data. To mention a few examples: modern work on gradients in insects is 



200 



