ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF SPEECH.

By Harold M. Kaplan '30. New York: McGraw-Hill, i960. 365 pp. $8.50.

This text is designed primarily for the use of Speech students, especially those preparing for further study in speech pathology, voice science, or phonetics. It is, however, of value to the physician who concerns himself with the effect upon speech of pathological conditions of the mechanisms involved in speech and hearing.

Pathology, indeed, has determined the emphasis of the book. To the traditional treatment of the anatomy and physiology of the speech mechanisms are added sections on comparative and developmental anatomy, in some chapters, applied anatomy and physiology, and in the case of hearing, tests and rehabilitation. This is not to say, however, that normal structure and function are neglected; the opposite is true. The reviewer has never read a clearer, more interesting exposition of the normal speech and hearing mechanisms.

Of special interest to those working with speech defects resulting from damages to and malfunctioning of the brain and nervous system is the up-to-date discussion of neural function. Valuable, too, are the references to authorities on the management and treatment of speech and hearing disorders. The author keeps to a minimum his own comment upon these topics.

Of more general interest are the historical reviews of the ideas and theories of laryngeal and hearing function. The lore of the uninformed as well as the contributions of the scientifically informed are recounted here. The reviewer wishes that some evaluation of the competence of the contributors might have been made to serve as a guide to further reading. For example, are McBurney and Wrage (p. 177) highly competent rhetoricains, good authorities in the field of resonance?

This is, however, a small matter. The text is a needed one in the field of speech correction, and will serve as an excellent and more readable substitute for Gray and Cunningham for the student who needs a minimum background for the study of the pathology of speech and treatment of speech and hearing disorders.