Authors: Edited by Myron M. Levine, James B. Kaper, Rino Rappuoli,Margaret A. Liu, Michael F. Good
Publishing: Massachusetts Medical Society
Published: 1998
The editors have looked for a compromise between detailed descriptions of individual vaccines and a general overview of the vaccine-development process. This has resulted in relatively short reviews on various topics. Although at first I liked the idea of having an introduction to economic analyses of vaccines or clinical evaluations of candidate vaccines, the chapters describing these seemed tangential to the main subject of the book and tended to be superficial. The same applies to the overviews of the vaccination programs and the commercial and regulatory aspects of vaccine production and distribution. Knowing the long and expensive developmental process of a new vaccine, I would have found interesting a description of the selection process of new candidates for development, including the political, commercial, and ethical implications. I realize, however, that 1215 pages are too few for both a thorough description of new vaccines and an introduction to other aspects of vaccine development. The publisher could expand these chapters and use them as a seed for another book: The Development and Evaluation of New Vaccines.
New Generation Vaccines is a valuable book for those who would like an overview of vaccines in the pipeline. Those who wish to learn about traditional vaccines and those who want detailed information about experiments with candidate vaccines need in most cases to look for other books and original articles. Vaccine researchers will find this book useful as an introduction to areas outside their own field. In general, it contains a lot of up-to-date information for those interested in future trends of infectious-disease prevention.
Progress in vaccinology is rapid. Therefore, future revised editions of this book will certainly be needed. If they are as readable and contain as much new information as the second edition, they will be most welcome. However, I hope that the weight of the book is kept within reasonable limits; future editions should not be expanded.
