M Otlowski. Oxford University Press, 2000, £25, pp 564. ISBN 0-19-829868-4

• Otlowski M. Voluntary Euthanasia and the Common Law

At first sight, this might not seem like the sort of book in which an ethicist would be interested. Such fears are compounded when one reads in the introduction that the book is “primarily a legal analysis” of the issues (page 4). It is liberally sprinkled with footnotes, mainly legal in nature, and surely we do not need another book about euthanasia? But we do, and this book is not only one ethicists can read, it is also one they should read. Otlowski argues that any examination of this subject matter necessarily involves “consideration of wider issues, including social change, as reflected in opinion polls and community agitation for reform, the practice and attitudes of the medical profession, as …