Edition: U.S. / Global

Disregard Hippocrates

Published: August 8, 2004

To the Editor:

John Leonard's claim, in his review of Dale Peck's ''Hatchet Jobs'' (July 18), that book reviewers should follow the Hippocratic guideline and ''do no harm'' shows a failure to appreciate the difference between medicine and literary criticism. The job of a doctor is to help his patients, which entails not harming them, but the job of a book reviewer is to give an accurate assessment of a book, even if this harms the writer.

Felicia Ackerman

Providence, R.I.