The following excerpts are from Dr. H. Stanley Thompson’s review of The Pupil: Anatomy, Physiology and Clinical Applications, Vols. I and II, by Irene E. Loewenfeld. Published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, 1993, Vol. 116, No. 1:117-119.

“To say that this is ‘a long awaited book’ is an understatement of absolutely breath-taking magnitude. Dr. Loewenfeld has been trying to understand how the pupils work-night and day-for almost 50 years. Since 1963 she has been actively working on this book, and for the last ten years has done little else. She has produced an enormous work that is a treasure trove of information and enlightenment. Volume I has almost 1,600 page of text, figures, and tables.”

“My first thought on holding this 11-pound volume in my hands was that it should have been divided into two volumes but Loewenfeld wanted the basic medical sciences and clinical medicine to come together in her book. She wanted the basic sciences to hold and read the clinical section, and she wanted the clinicians to understand the anatomy and physiology.”

“It is rare for a book to become available that speaks with such resounding authority, backed up by such a sparkling display of detailed knowledge. Such books usually summarize the life’s work of an active mind and they should be prized. The books of Stephen Polyak, Gordon Walls, and Frank Walsh come to mind. It is awesome to see Dr. Loewenfeld wade into the medical literature armed with the patience and courage of ten ordinary mortals. But it is not tenacity alone that makes her work so valuable; she reads so that she can understand, and when she’s got it, she passes it on to us in English that is beautifully clear and smooth, lively and economical. In the preface, Loewenfeld explains that she has written a few summary paragraphs for the beginning student at the front of each new section and marked them with a gray bar in the margin. Generations of students will be grateful for the extra effort she spent on these summaries.”