Most importantly, professional U.S. rheumatology societies have not been really involved in the development or organization of the rheumatology textbook.4
Dubois’ Lupus Erythematosus & Related Syndromes
To understand the future of textbooks, we have to delve into their history. For an example, let’s examine Dubois’ Lupus Erythematosus and Related Syndromes.
Born in Newark, N.J., Edmund Lawrence Dubois (1923–85) received a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, in 1943, served in the U.S. Army during the World War II while attending medical school and completed a pathology fellowship at Los Angeles County Hospital in 1948.
Ed became the internist to the stars during Hollywood’s golden era and started a practice in Beverly Hills. Wanting to make a difference by giving back, he volunteered at the Los Angeles County Hospital. In 1950, the medicine department chair, Paul Starr, asked him to look after eight patients diagnosed with the newly described LE Cell Prep. He built this undertaking into the largest lupus practice in the world, caring for 1,000 patients at the Los Angeles County Hospital and another 1,000 patients at his Cedars-Sinai-based private practice. Ed’s research and publications helped define what became known as systemic lupus erythematosus.
In 1964, he signed a contract with McGraw-Hill, New York, to publish the first textbook on lupus erythematosus. When it appeared in 1966, the textbook sold for $20, was 479 pages long and had 183 figures and 1,500 references. He wrote 70% of the text himself. A second edition was released in 1974 and a second revised edition in 1976.
Unfortunately, Ed was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the age of 54. With compression fractures in his spine, he asked if the current editor in chief, [author DJW], could help him out by seeing his patients and presenting them to him. Ed signed a contract with Lea & Febiger in 1983 to do a third edition of the monograph, but with his failing health the burden of writing the book passed on to Dr. Wallace.
Bevra Hahn joined as a co-editor for the third edition, and the book still sells well. The 10th edition is in press. The textbook has sold 40,000 copies over 57 years, and continues to need constant updating and revision.
A Proposed Mechanism for Repurposing
Despite the demand for and the arrival of competing products, textbooks have, in our estimation, a bright future. Broadus and Grippi wrote, “Textbook content represents a unique synthesis of clinical and scientific material of real educational and clinical value. Incorporation of illustrations, including figures, tables, videos and audios, bolsters the presentation and further solidifies the reader’s understanding of the subject. The textbook, both printed and digital, reinforces the many widely available online resources and serves as a platform from which to evaluate other sources of information and to launch additional scientific and clinical inquiry.”5
