Guest Review by Ned Gentz, DVM, DACZM (Click on stars for an explanation)

This book is Out of Print.

You know that scene in the great Steve Martin movie, The Jerk, where Steve's character goes running inside the house shouting, “The new phone book's here, the new phone book's here!”? Well, that's how I feel about the publication of each new edition of Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy (CVT).

Right after graduation, when I entered practice and started looking stuff up, I was surprised to find that the source material for many of the school lectures was from the most recent Kirk's CVT. During my private practice years, I found this series of books to be absolutely indispensable.

The sections in Kirk's are reassuringly consistent from volume to volume: special therapy; critical care; toxicologic disorders; infectious diseases; endocrine and metabolic disorders; hematology/oncology/immunology; dermatologic diseases; gastrointestinal disorders; cardiopulmonary diseases; urinary disorders; reproductive disorders; neurologic/musculoskeletal disorders; ophthalmologic diseases; and diseases of birds and exotic pets. Every section editor does a superlative job recruiting expert authors to write each section article.

You also know that old saw from vet school, “Don't expect zebras”? Now that I'm a zoo vet, I do expect zebras, and I don't see the number of “routine” cases of diabetes, Cushing's, and Addison's as does the average practitioner, and I'm even happier to have Kirk's CVT there to look up what the experts have to say about these and other diseases. For practitioners who do see primarily cats and dogs, with just a smattering of exotics cases, the exotics chapters in this and other editions of Kirk's CVT are outstanding (and quite possibly all the reference material needed by the 1-2 exotics case/week kind of practice).

I got to meet Dr. Kirk, at a reception when I was teaching at Cornell. I was quite in awe; new CVT editor Dr. Bonagura has some big shoes to fill and appears to doing a great job so far. I have often advised students that -- when visiting a clinic that might be a possible future employer -- they always try and sneak a peak at the clinic's library; if the newest CVT they have is the yellow one, then their “VT” might not be very “C”. I can't imagine a veterinarian out there who shouldn't own this book.

WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Elsevier Publishers (2000).

1308 pages.

ISBN: 9780721655239.

Information about the book's editor:

Dr. Bonagura graduated from The Ohio State University and trained in an internship at the Animal Medical Center, NY and residency at The Ohio State University where he then joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Bonagura is currently Professor in Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University. Bonagura is certified in both the Specialty of Cardiology and Specialty of Small Animal Internal Medicine.

Dr. Bonagura is respected nationally and internationally as a clinician, educator and researcher in veterinary cardiology. He is considered an excellent educator and has been a mentor and advisor, training many veterinary cardiologists. He has also been the recipient of numerous professional awards including 2 Norden Distinguished Teaching Awards and a University Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. John Bonagura is the 2003 Robert W. Kirk Distinguished Service Award recipient at the 2003 ACVIM Forum in Charlotte, NC. The Kirk award is presented to an ACVIM Diplomate having distinguished service to the veterinary profession and contributions to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Bonagura's research has made significant contributions to the field of veterinary cardiology. He is considered to be one of the pioneers in veterinary echocardiography and congenital cardiovascular disease. Editor of Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy, Bonagura has published extensively, including many original papers and book chapters.

Dr. Bonagura served as President of the Specialty of Cardiology, member of the Board of Regents, and on many committees of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He is past Gilbreath-McCloud Endowed Professor of Veterinary Cardiology at the University of Missouri. Dr. John Bonagura continues to be an active educator and researcher.