Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, Ian Stewart. 1989. Basil Blackwell, Cambrdige, MA. 317 pages. ISBN: 0-631-16847-8. $19.95

The emergence of substance abuse as a major social problem, the growing awareness of the risks of iatrogenic drug addiction, and the increasing government surveillance of narcotic distribution are affecting physicians’ attitudes toward therapeutic use of opiates and inhibiting many clinicians who treat cancer patients from prescribing adequate drugs for pain control. This volume critically examines the cultural, legal, and medical factors that influence physicians’ decisions on use of narcotics for cancer pain and establishes objective guidelines for making these decisions. Most of the fundamental issues in the field of pain -including epistemological questions -are addressed by a truly multidisciplinary group of contributors, including drug abuse experts, government regulators, lawyers, sociologists, anthropologists, historians, philosophers, and theologians, as well as basic scientists, clinical pharmacologists, pharmacists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, oncologists, internists, and nurses.