Reviews the books `Cancer Medicine, Third Edition, Vols. 1 and 2,' edited by James F. Holland, Emil Frei III, Robert C. Bast, Donald W. Kufe, Donald L. Morton and Ralph R. Weichselbaum and `Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, Fourth Edition, Vols. 1 and 2,' edited by Vincent T. DeVita Jr., Samuel Hellman and Steven A. Rosenberg.