Immune system fun? A book review

Published: 17 December 2012

Lauren Sompayrac (2012) How the immune system works (4th ed). Wiley-Blackwell. Chichester

The immune system is undoubtedly complex and complicated and so any means of communicating and clarifying a comprehensive and comprehensible message is to be welcomed. This is a short, fact-filled and fun rendition of the system that protects us from foreign invasion. It could be read by anyone with an interest in the topic, even though it is probably and primarily aimed at medical students. The prose style is relaxed and familiar and this stylistic approach makes for easier reading.

There are a few issues with the book however, not least its classification of diabetes, which uses out-of-date terminology. IDDM and NIDDM essentially and, of course erroneously, categorise according to treatment, and were changed in 1999 to T1DM and T2DM, which more accurately sorts the two major forms of this disease according to pathology, such as the autoimmune focus for this book when talking about T1DM.

That notwithstanding, this is an engaging read and recommended to anyone trying to make sense of this difficult topic, particularly if they have found more traditional tomes hard going.