This interesting and unusual book is a compendium of about 50 brief interviews with dermatologists, most of them in academic practice. The editor, and interviewer-in-chief, is a dermatology resident at the University of Alberta, Edmonton.
The story began in 2003, when Barankin, in collaboration with David Elpern, launched Dermanities, “the first online medical journal devoted to the social sciences and humanities as they relate to dermatology.” Previously reviewed in the ARCHIVES, Dermanities includes a section entitled “Dermographies,” which was the source for this book. Specifically, Barankin and Alpern sent out a mailing to several hundred dermatologists asking them to respond to a list of preselected questions. Some of the responses were featured in successive issues of the journal, and all are now published in this single volume.