By Anne Tursz and Pascale Gerbouin-Rérolle. (Pp 204; price not listed.) INSERM, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, 2001. ISBN 2-85598-791-1.

This book deals with a standard public health topic. For the last 20 years or so, numerous countries have pondered over what strategies they should adopt to reduce childhood injuries. This recent French publication offers a distinctive viewpoint. One question some readers, especially those who may have to struggle with their high school French, may ask is: How useful is this book outside its country of origin? The answer is given in what follows, but in two words, it is potentially “very useful”.

The authors' stated aims are to identify possible gaps in childhood injury prevention in France, to investigate their causes, and to make recommendations to improve prevention. The book is essentially concerned with children younger than 10 years of …