Alcohol intoxication and withdrawal--III

Dr. Milton M. Gross, the editor of these volumes, died on July 29, 1976, after a brief illness. As chairman of the section on Biomedical Research in Alcoholism of the I.C.A.A., he had planned and brought to fruition the international "Symposium on Alcohol Intoxication and Withdrawal" which had taken place in Lausanne the month before. He was particularly proud of the distinguished group of scientists he had helped to assemble and was eagerly looking forward to the publication of these proceedings which he hoped would extend our understanding of the phenomenology of alcoholism. Milton Gross was a most unusual man in the extent and range of his activities and accomplishments. He was a certified psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, a recognized clinical researcher, the author of more than fifty scientific papers, and the editor of three important volumes on alcohol intoxication and withdrawal.

He was extremely active in the scientific world of alcoholism as planner and coordinator of three international conferences, as chairman of the section on Biomedical Research of the I.C.A.A., and as a member of a W.H.O. Task Force on Alcoholism. In addition, he was very active in a variety of scientific and service committees in national and local organizations. His interests were by no means purely scientific. He was a serious collector of African and pre-Columbian artifacts and was considered highly knowledgeable in each of these areas. Yet, these extensive commitments did not prevent him from spending a great deal of time with his family and friends, for whom he always showed the greatest consideration. He had a tremendous capacity for living which was manifest in his warmth and good humor. As long-standing friends and collaborators of Milton Gross, we have undertaken to complete the publication of these volumes.

All of the manuscripts were solicited by him as the organizer of the conference; the richness of the coverage is due to his thorough absorption in the field. Our own task has been the relatively minor one of harassing authors for delinquent papers and preparing manuscripts for the publishers.