Printed in U.S.A. PRACTICE OF EPIDEMIOLOGYBOOK REVIEWS

Here is more on “the book that does not exist, ” as Winkel-stein has put it (1). A text on the history of epidemiology is badly needed. Meanwhile, a collection of papers, written by both professional historians and epidemiologists, has become available (2–8) and can provide useful material for courses dedicated to history in the teaching curriculum of epidemi-ology scholars. Social and Preventive Medicine (Interna-tional Journal in Public Health) started publishing these papers in January 2001. Most were presented at a workshop on the history of epidemiology, entitled “Measuring Our Scourges, ” held in Annecy, France, on July 1–10, 1996. The Annecy workshop focused on the history of epidemio-logic methods rather than on specific achievements of epide-miology in controlling plagues such as cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, typhoid fever, or lung cancer. The rationale was th