Book excerpt: Never before has a comprehensive history of the pancreas like History of the Pancreas been published. It not only is a historical review of the science of medicine, it is liberally interspersed with anecdotal vignettes of the researchers who have worked on this organ. Much of it, such as the discovery of the duct of Wirsüng, of the islets of Langerhans, of insulin, gastrin and their tumors, reads like the adverture, which it is. This book, divided into 14 chapters, is written in a narrative style and is easily readable, as glimpses of the investigators, those who failed as well as those who succeeded, adds both perspective and human interest. Each chapter is completely referenced, totaling over 1500 references. As a reference book for students, teachers, investigators, writers, its detailed hjistorical documentation is unique. From the pre-Christian era of Asia Minor, to Greece, Rome, Europe and America, to the explosive progress in Japan, the history is there. History of the Pancreas: Mysteries of a Hidden Organ fills a gap.