A DOCTOR'S BROADCASTS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 382, 18 October 1946, Page 20

A DOCTOR'S BROADCASTS

RADIO .TALKS ON HEALTH. By H. B, Turbott, M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H. (Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., Wellington). S the title clearly indicates, the material in this book has already been heard on the air (in the series of talks given by Dr. Turbott in the ZB breakfast session), and many of the subjects in it have also been dealt with by him in articles supplied to The Listener, But neither of these is a sound reason against buying the book. On the contrary, since what is heard on the air is seldom long remembered, and since

few people collect back copies even of © The Listener, and fewer still would be able to put their hands immediately on the appropriate issue containing advice on what to do if the baby develops a squint or swallows a tin whistle, the publication of the talks in this convenient form will be welcomed by many. Dr. Turbott is director of the Division of School Hygiene in the Health Department, but children’s ailments are not by any’ means the only ones discussed, the book being divided into three sections devoted to "common troubles and diseases" (including accidents in the horne), infectious diseases, and maternal welfare. The advice given is both pre--ventative and curative in character, with emphasis on the former aspect, on the principle that it is much easier to maintain a healthy body than to repair it once it has broken down. Probably because the material was originally prepared for broadcasting-and for broadcasting in talks lasting only three minutes each-the language used is not only more "popular," but also much more concise, and is therefore likely to be more easily understood by the ordinary reader, than is the case with many handbooks of medical advice.