Nursing Books

state of the art book for all anesthesiology residents for every day life and board exams, one of the best books i have read, concise, pertinent, easy to read and to the date.
not a book to start with in anesthesiology, but it contains answers to the questions you can't find the answer, and a very good last read before clinical exams.

Finally the book that I have been waiting for. Two years after graduation for CRNA school I have been looking for a book to sort of "light my fire" again and Yao and Artusio's did it. Not only is this book filled with a great amount of knowledge, but also it is an inspiration to those of us who want to excel in anesthesia beyond the banality of induction and wake-ups. In the workforce, we as anesthesia providers, can become repetitive doers based on what work for us on a daily basis, but this book provides the key reasoning about why doing this versus doing that. The reading flows very well and after each chapter you are filled with a knowledge wandering how come no one explained it to you like that before. This book is a most for the serious anesthesia provider who wants to excel.

I do agree that this textbook is a very well-done, well written book with a lot of value for anesthesiologists. However, as a tool for oral board study it is actually a bit too comprehensive and inclusive. Take my word for it, during your oral board exam you are not going to be asked about histologic changes in the bronchial mucosa of the asthmatic or the synthetic pathway of catecholamines. The person studying for the oral anesthesiology board doesn't have time to waste learning material that he or she doesn't need to know. I recommend instead Clinical Cases in Anesthesia by Reed. Same format, much more focused on the material that the anesthesiologist must know for the oral exam.

You've passed the written boards - Congratulations! Now that you're sober again it's time to start thinking about the orals and this puppy is a big part of the solution. It's set up in an oral board question and answer style. Simply read the question -without looking at their answer- and then answer it out loud like you would if the examiner were sitting there in front of you. I know it's weird but it really does help to also practice in front of a mirror to eliminate all of the bizarre facial tics you never knew you had. Now look at the answer. Were you right or even close? Good! Keep going, you'll hone your style to a razor's edge. This technique, along with some good mock oral practice with those attendings who know how to give them, will have you spraying champagne over your friends and family like you've won the Grand Prix of Monaco the night after!

WRITTEN IN A FORMAT OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT MAKES YOUR PREPERATION FOR THE BOARD MUUCH MORE YIELDED.A VERY GOOD SUPPLEMENT FOR ANESTHESIA PREPERATION

I enjoyed the authors' book on logistic regression analysis in 1989, and this book is just as good, or better, with many extremely practical suggestions on building regression models for survival data. Happily, the authors summarize, compare, and contrast several major texts on survival analysis which have appeared in the past 10 years. For example, they discuss different names used by different authors for score residuals. They present a helpful appendix on the counting process approach to survival analysis, which will make more advanced texts accessible to students; thus, anyone who wants to use survival analysis, at any level, should consult this book, even if he has already studied books by Miller, Lee, Collett, Fleming-Harington,Andersen, et al, etc. An unfortunate drawback to this book is that the first printing contains many careless errors, some of which may affect student learning: for example, the definition of a survival function is misstated. I recommend that you insist on the second or third printing when buying this book, and you will be quite satisfied.

The authors provide a really nice, non-technical survey of the landscape for Cox Proportional Hazards models. A nice aspect of their treatment is the care they take to reference all highly technical texts and journal articles. For example, if you'd like to find out more about goodness-of-fit tests for survival models, the authors provide ample references to the Counting Process Theory of Martingale Residuals.

The first chapter discusses the basic characteristics of survival data, including the notion of censoring (in all of its various forms). Examples of the principle types of censoring are included. The chapter also includes introductory material on the general survival model, including a nice description of the log likelihood function. Curiously, the rigorous definition of the hazard function has been omitted, probably to avoid intimidating readers who are not familiar with formal limits.

Chapter 2 continues to build up the general survival model and introduces the relationship between the survivor function and the cumulative hazard. Pointwise estimators for the survivor function are discussed, including the Kaplan-Meier estimator along with the various variance estimators. Test statistics for comparing two survival populations are introduced, including the Log-Rank and General Wilcoxon statistics. The reader is encouraged to read the counting process treatments of these statistics to see why they produced defensible hypothesis tests.

Chapter 3 is devoted to the Cox Model and Cox's partial likelihood function. Tests for significance of the coefficients are introduced, included the Wald test, log likelihood ratio test and the score test. These are used heavily in the later chapters as the basis of a model-building methodology.

Chapter 4 is a very short, but nicely written chapter explaining how to interpret the values of each regression coefficent. It also describes covariate-adjustment techniques for model diagnostics.

Chapter 5 is just a wonderful chapter which outlines classical model building techniques. This is a great chapter for anyone who has ever been thrown a ton of data (with a bushel of possible covariates) and asked to "fit a model to this stuff".
Readers who have done a lot of purposeful fitting of linear regression models won't find the basic techniques new, but use of survival specific residuals and selection criterion will probably be an eye-opener. The section on assessing the functional form for continuous covariates is also nicely written.
However, the section on Best Subsets Selection was a little too "cook-booky" for my taste.

Chapter 6 is another very nice chapter on goodness-of-fit. It discusses analysis of the various residuals and their use for analysis outliers, testing proportional hazards assumptions and overall Goodness-of-Fit.

Chapter 7 discusses the standard extensions of the Cox model, including stratification and time-varying covariates. Chapter 8 discusses parametric survival models, and is a good introduction to the SAS procedure LIFEREG. The generalization of the Cox model to recurring event data (also know as Aalen's multiplicative intensity model) can be found in Chapter 9.

My only complaint is that each chapter was designed to be read in one sitting. Individual ideas, topics and formulas can be buried in a seemingly unbroken chain of paragraphs. The lack of sub-sub section titles,etc, makes using the text as is somewhat cumbersome to use as a desk reference. I've gotten around this limitation by marking key concepts, etc., in the margin in order to give a "quick search" capability enhancement to the index.

Applied Survival Analysis is an excellent book for someone seeking a non-mathematicial explanation of survival analysis. The book covers the motivation behind the development of survival analysis, estimation of survival curves, the Cox proportionial hazards, and some parametric models. The book also covers the major methods used in variable selection, model building, and diagnostics. Someone with an undergraduate background in statistics and econometrics will understand the book. The book relies on text to discuss the methods and uses mathematical formulas only when absolutely necessary. Numerous examples are used to highlight what the text covers. The math that is used is easily understandable. This book is ideal for someone who needs to learn the tools of survival analysis but not how they were derived.

This book provides a good, clear, concise explanation of Cox's proportional hazards models. For someone seeking a non-mathematical description this is a great guide. The original datasets from the text examples can even be downloaded and you can go through the same process yourself. Because of some mistakes in the text, I would recomend looking at other sources as well.

Hosmer and Lemeshow have given us a clear, nontechnical introduction to using survival models. The book strikes a good balance between covering the basics and addressing the most recent, state-of-the-art techniques, including repeated events, frailty models, and others. They also do a good job of addressing practical issues, including estimation details and available software. While most of the examples are drawn from medicine and biostatistics, this book could also serve as a useful starting point for social and behavioral scientists interesting in learning the fundamentals of these models, as well as a useful reference for applied researchers.

This book has everything I need to know for my Human Anatomy related courses. It is worth every penny. Plus, you're just not cool unless you have this book.

This is a magnificent book. It was edited first in the 1800's and the drawings are excellent. It is very useful for teaching anatomy as well as to review historically some "primitive" surgical techniques.

I was astounded at the sheer size of this book. As a medical illustrator/animator and anatomy book collector, this is one of my favorites, but it is a bit cumbersome if being stored on a bookshelf (it comes with its own cardboard carrying case). It can definitely be used as a coffee table book; but I would advise against letting people leaf through the surgery section if they are eating....
I was however; very disappointed that the labels had been removed. Also, some of the pages in the introduction are in french and german. Nonetheless, I can highly recommend this book if it not being used as a reference text, not only for it thoroughness, but the beauty of its artwork and the uniqueness of its style.

Beautiful drawings! I am so happy to see perspectives and layers that are glossed over in most modern anatomical illustrations, esp various depictions of fascia. Striking detail -- I am so pleased I went with the large format of this book. If it didn't weigh 25 lbs I wouldn't be able to put it down!

I don't have any particular interest in anatomy, although I do like to do a little of my own research when some body part is misbehaving. This massive book will certainly assist in the future...it has to be the gold-standard of anatomy books. And Taschen has done yet another magnificent job producing one of these major historic works. Folks, this book is staggering, in both size and quality. It is HUGE (perhaps four times the size of an average "coffee-table book") and heavy and beautifully produced: Cloth-bound cover, incredible paper quality, magnificent color reproduction...and enormous scope. Page after page of....well, blood and guts, assorted organs, skeletons, bones and skulls.

But that's what we're made of, and even though I maybe got a little nauseous by page 700, it was an amazing voyage through the human body. And even though these plates are well over a hundred years old, I presume we have not evolved so much that anything here is outdated or obsolete. Bottom-line: if you have the slightest interest in anatomy, you MUST buy this book. This is an heirloom quality edifice.

I should also mention that if you have friends or family who are medical students, doctors, or some other type of "medical professional," or athletic trainer, this might be the best gift you could give them. Not only will they enjoy it from an aesthetic perspective, they may use it on occasion in the course of their work. This thing seems like it might be really useful for anyone trying to visualize a region of the body. And there is an extensive section dedicated to various (perhaps outdated) surgical techniques and medical apparatus.

Taschen does it yet again. I see Taschen as being to books as Criterion is to DVDs and Fat Possum is to music. These companies lovingly excavate these lost or unknown treasures and present them for all of us to enjoy in an ultra-high quality package. This may not be good for my savings account but my bookshelves are a cultural treasure trove.

Steve's talent and passion for child psychology is evident throughout the text. His mastery of Winnicott is unparalleled, as his is ability to carefully disect convoluted concepts in an easily discernable fashion. On a personal level, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who knows more about child psychology than Dr. Tuber. Having met Steve on several occassions now, I feel confident in recommending this masterpiece of his to both anyone in the psychological community, as well as anyone in the English-speaking world.

Steve Tuber's "Attachment, Play, and Authenticity" is brilliantly written, a true pleasure to read in its clarity, originality, and playful approach. Tuber's book is an especially welcome addition as a primer that makes Winnicott's complex and often-paradoxical ideas accessible to a wide range of readers. Tuber unpacks and explicates Winnicott's theories--including "good-enough" mothering, the child's capacity to play, and the "False Self"--through the use of examples from his own experiences as a clinician and as a parent. Tuber also draws on works of popular culture (J.K. Rowling and Bruce Springsteen, among others!) to illustrate the universality of Winnicott's ideas. I highly recommend this book to clinicians, parents, and anyone curious about the inner life of children.

"Attachment, Play, and Authenticity," is a beautifully written primer by Steve Tuber on the work of Donald Winnicott, detailing the richness and clarity of his writing and ideas. Tuber starts each chapter by grappling with a paradox inherent in an aspect of Winnicott's work, and then wrestles with each paradox by delving deeply into a paper or two by Winnicott that is particularly illustrative of that idea. The chapters focus on key aspects of the text, and each passage beautifully illustrates Winnicott's evocative language and depth of thought. Tuber elegantly unpacks the density of Winnicott's ideas while constructing a narrative for the reader, with each theory building on the last, leading the reader to an integrated understanding of the developing internal world of the child. Tuber uses examples from his own work as a therapist, his experiences as a parent, as well as illustrations from classic children's stories that have become classics precisely because, as Tuber shows, they so perfectly capture the emotional dilemmas of childhood. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to delve into Winnicott's work; this book is a must-read for therapists working with clients of all ages, as well as anyone who wants to better understand the emotional lives of children.

Attachment, Play, and Authenticity: A Winnicott Primer
Steven Tuber is Professor of Psychology and Past Director, Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology of the City University of New York at City College. His new book on Winnicott's work will be of great interest to play therapists. Of particular interest to play therapists is his Chapter 8, "The Meaning and Power of Play." Tuber states on page 119, that Winnicott "believes that the ability to play is the benchmark for the entrance into a life of health and vitality." Tuber explains Winnicott's notion of the duality of play, "It is the milieu in which the baby discovers her True and hence utterly private self and yet the means by which she engages others and develops support" (p.122). Another important Winnicott concept of play is "Playing thereby allows the child to consistently work on the boundary between illusory omnipotence and helplessness and thus has at its essence the quest for mastery over the inner and outer chaotic (that is, not yet understood) aspects of its experience" (p. 123). Tuber cites an essential characteristic of play in general emphasized by Winnicott, but in play therapy this quest for mastery over the inner and outer worlds, creating cohesive play and later verbal narratives out of the bewildering experiences of a young child is a quintessential task. Tuber also explains that play is about repetition; play themes are endlessly repeated. This redundancy is most valuable to the play therapist because if we miss something the first or second time around, chances are it will come around again. This, however, poses a challenge to the parent, especially the mother who is typically the primary caretaker because she must attempt to maintain a "good enough" connection with the child in the face of boring, repetitions of play themes that may after a point become mind-numbing boring. Ending these play sequences often as a result of necessity involves as Tuber explains the "good-enough" mother learning to help the child make a difficult transition. Among many clinically astute and remarkable insights expressed by Tuber in this outstanding book is his comparison to the role of a child therapist in ending a play session. He states, "It makes me think immediately of what it is like to be a child therapist when the patient doesn't want to leave at the end of the session. These moments speak to how difficult it is to end the magic of play, to end the magic of relating, and for children who have had parents who have been experienced as unreliable, how frightening and/or depriving it is to end the therapy session. These children expect that the ending of the session will also not be reliably done, such that they won't get back to the pleasure of playing and the pleasure of relating" (p.124). Tuber goes on to explain that not wanting to end the session is a sign of hope in child therapy because it represents a wish in Winnicott's term of continuing the "good object" and a fear that the "good object" will not come back. Although the "good object" is viewed as unreliable there nevertheless is implied both the wish and capacity for relatedness.
Tuber beautifully expands on Winnicott's concept of a holding environment and its crucial importance in the creation of the True self. But the very process of creating a true and separate self presents the young human with the ever present prospect of aloneness. Tuber eloquently elaborates on this point, "The capacity to be alone thus implies the need for relatedness. To the extent that the baby can evoke treasured people in its play, and use the play to engage imaginatively with these people in interactions that explore every type of affect the baby knows, then the baby can tolerate the aloneness and indeed come to thrive despite--actually because of--its awareness. We can also say that the capacity to create symbols allows the child to cognitively "hold" her parent more easily, creating a salve to combat aloneness" (p.127). The above examples are samples of the richness of insight and creative clinical process that this beautifully written book offers to my colleagues in play therapy. The other 12 chapters in this book expand on Winnicott's key conceptual contributions and his approach to therapy. This book will be invaluable to mental health professionals unfamiliar with Winnicott's work or those of us who need a refresher. It is a comprehensive, wise, and unusually readable summary of Winnicott's important contributions to child and play therapy. Steve Tuber is a first rate clinician and scholar. On a personal note I met Dr. Tuber more than 30 years ago when he did a Post-Doctoral Internship at the Astor Home for Children. Even in the early days of his career, he impressed me both by his scholarship and research interests and his ability to connect with even the most unintegrated children. I regard him as well as his book as a true gift to the field of child therapy.

Steve Tuber's book, "Attachment, Play, and Authenticity," is an incredible resource not only for students of psychology, but for any mother or mother-to-be. Tuber transforms Winnicott's theories into accessible, everyday language and invokes familiar songs, lyrics, children's books, and other bits of popular media to highlight the manifold meanings behind every moment of mother-baby interactions. As recent mothers ourselves, we found Tuber's ability to capture and make come alive the subtleties of mother-infant interactions remarkable. He describes the importance of the mother's ability to mirror her baby's experience through her facial expressions, the particular ways in which the fluctuations of her mood contribute over time to her baby's development, and the importance of the mother's participation in baby's play--all of which are vital parts of the new mother's everyday experience. Furthermore, this book "gives voice" to the infant, providing mothers with new ways of understanding the inner life of her baby and highlighting just how very psychologically alive their babies are. Winnicott is known for the idea of "good-enough mother," and Tuber's repeated invocation of not only the inevitably but the importance of a mother's imperfect attunement to her baby is likely to resonate with and inspire confidence in mothers. So many new mothers feel overwhelmed with the "rules and regulations" of new mothering provided by the myriad books and internet sites with "to-do" and "not-to-do" lists. It's incredibly reassuring to think that we need only be good enough, not perfect, and that the mother's effort to repair a "failure" is just as--if not more--vital for the infant's emotional development than attempting to provide a perfect attunement at all times.

This book was required for an online college course I was taking. The book is layed out in a nice format and is easy to follow. The CD that comes with the book is quite helpful when preparing for exams and quizzes.

I am an instructor for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) Professional Medical Coding Curriculum (PMCC) and often recommend this book as a way for a student to be fully prepared to take our course.

I love the CD ROM with the excercises (that's the instructor in me :) as well as the fact that there are pronunciations. This is truly a "self study" course and I highly recommend it.

Laureen Jandroep, OTR, CPC, CCS-P A+ Medical Management & Education...

I read this book cover-to-cover during a Medical Transcription certificate program and was really impressed with the format. The order in which the terms are presented and the fill-in-the-blank sections are excellent for testing and retesting yourself. The answers to the tests are in the back of the book so that you can be sure you answered the questions correctly. I have seen other medical terminology books on the market, but none compare to this one for ease of learning!

Wow! I wish I had found this before I blew two weeks salary on a medical transcription course. This book covered more ground than the manuals that I received, and for a fraction of the cost. Without this book I don't think I would ever have picked up the terminology - and I would have missed out on such a great career! (2 years and going strong!)

As a provider of Medical Transcriptionist training, I wouldn't suggest people try to replace a comprehensive course with this book. But anyone would profit by adding it to their course materials. It is particularly strong in supporting retention, which is a rare quality in textbooks.

An easy-to-understand book that explains the health benefits from Bach flowers. I highly recommend this book to everyone who appreciates the natural way to feel better.

I began studying and using the Bach Flower Remedies about 6 months ago. I have read and re-read this book regarding different essences. It contains case studies along with both "essay" descriptions of the positive and negative states of each essence as well as check lists of qualities a person might exhibit if they were in need of that particular essence. Very informative and very useful in deepening your understanding the essences.

This book explains the theory behind Bach Flower Therapy and helps you match the one to your current situation. I have used Bach Flower Tinctures many times and have had positive results each time.

This book is the definitive guide to Bach Flower Remedies and is extremely insightful and well presented. It gives the positive and negatives for each Flower Remedy and a detailed description of each of the 38 Bach Flower Remedies. I have used it extensively in my Veterinary Practice for animals and for myself and people I know and it is a must for anyone using Flower Remedies for people or animals, though more geared towards people. I would highly recommend this book to the experienced practitioner or those seeking to learn about Bach Flower Remedies in general. Anna Maria Scholey MA Vet.MB MRCVS

This excellent work on the Bach flower remedies is one of the best books on the subject that I have encountered. The author provides the history of Dr. Bach and the remedies, deals with the remedies as a holistic healing modality and offers a possible interpretation as to how and why they work.

There is a chapter devoted to finding the right remedy for specific diseases - lists of symptoms are included to facilitate diagnosis. The practical application of the remedies is thoroughly explained and there is an interesting discussion of the 38 flowers from which they are made and their qualities.

A helpful Question and Answer section addresses frequently asked questions. The book concludes with a bibliography, list of useful addresses and an index. In additional to this informative book and for a wider look at holistic medicine, I highly recommend Gerber's masterpiece Vibrational Medicine.

Simply the best text I've yet encountered on spinal anatomy. Thorough yet concise, and accurate. Drs. Cramer & Darby are to be congratulated on a superb product. I own and use the 1st (1995) edition of this text. Prior to its release, I used a combination of over six different anatomy texts and integrated their various levels of information into professional notes on spinal anatomy. I have found this text to equal or exceed those notes in all respects. Moreover, the information provided by Drs. Cramer & Darby has proven consistently reliable, unlike many other texts. I have not yet seen the 2nd edition of this text, but expect that it would continue the quality of the 1st while containing further integration of contemporary spinal research within its pages.

Basic and Clinical Anatomy of the Spine, Spinal Cord and ANS will collect no dust on your shelf. Whether you are faculty, a new student, or a practicing physician, this text is an excellent source of accurate, up-to-date information that is presented in an easy to use, quick reference, format. The exquisite detail of the numerous tables is all-inclusive and very helpful (i.e. chapter four [muscles that influence the spine] contains a 7 page layout of the name, location, origin, insertion, action, and innervation of every muscle that affects the spine). The text also contains excellent photographs and artistic renderings of all the anatomy discussed within. If you can only afford a couple texts, make this one of your purchases.

This book is very complete and gives full descriptions of the anatomy of the spine. I would recommend this book for any chiropractic students taking a class in spinal anatomy, for any osteopathic student taking gross anatomy and any physical therapy students taking anatomy classes. However, I would also recommend the following which is also sold on amazon.com:
Spinal Anatomy Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers by Patrick Leonardi (ISBN: 0971999600)
This study guide will definitely give you an edge on tests and prepare first year chiropractic students to know the type of questions to be ready for. If you want to pass spinal anatomy without stress and get good grades, both books are a must buy. My study group and I used both books and we all passed spinal anatomy class with at least a B in our chiropractic school.

Basic and Clinical Anatomy of the Spine, Spinal Cord, and ANS is an excellent text for both students and clinicians that specialize in the spine. As a chiropractic student, I used the first edition for my spinal anatomy class and as a National Chiropractic Board Exam review and found it to be extremely helpful.

Now I am preparing to enter my private outpatient practice and decided to pick up the 2nd edition of this text to use as a reference. I was thoroughly impressed with the new edition. The new edition offers many advantages over any other book that I have seen in the anatomical description of the spine, and the clinical application of this knowledge. I was particularly impressed with the presentation of the latest research related to the spine, the brilliant new illustrations, high resolution CT and MR images, and the new material related to the ANS (and its role in pain), intervertebral disc degeneration, and the pediatric spine. Although it isn't new, I also appreciate the red-lined sections that mark the clinically relevant information (which I think will be very helpful in the next few years as a quick review in practice).

For those who already own the first edition, I would highly recommend updating to this edition simply based on the wealth of new information that science has revealed concerning the spine and nervous system. For those who haven't experienced this book, I would recommend it for its dual use as a basic science reference and as a clinical science review. I think this book holds tremendous value for both students and practitioners (DCs, DOs, MDs, PTs, etc) that work with the spine and nervous system.

Written by DC's and PhD's at National College of Chiropractic. Red ruled sections give relevant clinical information, which is nice, and chapter 11 (pain of spinal origin)is very helpful, but it can sometimes read like stereo instructions.

This book is a must for anyone, including family, caregiver, or friend who knows someone with Alzheimers. The "best friends" approach is a caring, sensitive and thoughful way to work with and care for those with this disease. The authors provide practical examples of dealing with behavior problems, planning activities and most importantly how to be a "friend" to the person with Alzheimers. The authors have done a superb job of providing a creative yet common sense approach to caring for those with this disease.

I read this book as part of training to lead activities in an adult day center. It is thorough, concise and very reader friendly. This is an excellent resource for training programs and for anyone wanting to develop skills in working with persons with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. This book is a must have.

This past semester, my seminary (Christian Theological Seminary) was honoured to host Virginia and Wayne Bell as they led a conference on Spirituality and Aging. As we approach a time in which the issues of aging will take increasing prominence, as the baby-boomers reach a collectively-older age than any generation in history has reached, the issues surrounding health care for the elderly are of primary importance, and part of that health is mental (which includes spiritual) health. The Bells have spent much time investigating and helping in the area of Alzheimer's, a disease that affects mind, body and spirit. Virginia Bell, together with a colleague, David Troxel, collaborated on two books (one of which is the the subject of this review) presenting an innovative way for care of those with Alzheimer's: `The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care'.

Virginia Bell, MSW, is currently Program Consultant with the Lexington/Bluegrass Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. She is a graduate of Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky, and has lectured widely at national and international conference. Her co-author, David Troxel, works with the Santa Barbara chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

`"The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care" reflects a growing optimism in the field of Alzheimer's care that much can be done to improve the lives of people with the disease and to transform caregiving from a terrible burden to care that is manageable. This book represents the development of the first comprehensive model of care, which is easy to understand and learn.'

At the start of the book, Bell and Troxel describe the various experiences of those with Alzheimer's. By looking at the depression, confusion, and detachment that those with Alzheimer's experience, the caregiver gains a greater understanding and compassion for those suffering. Perhaps the most important key insight comes from a nurse and teacher, Rebecca, who began to experience symptoms of Alzheimer's at age 59.

`I dislike social workers, nurses and friends who do not treat me as a real person.'

Despite her slowly declining cognitive abilities, she is still able to sense that people are regarding her differently, as a patient, as an object, as a 'third person' rather than a real person.

Persons with Alzheimer's experience loss, sadness, confusion, isolation and loneliness, fear, frustration, anxiety, paranoia, anger, and embarrassment. The Best Friends model takes all of these into account as a normal part of everyone's life.

The second chapter gives a basic overview of Alzheimer's, giving symptoms, diagnosis, services, caregiving issues, and research news. The Best Friends model requires no specialised medical or scientific knowledge -- an appendix is included in the book for those who wish to pursue those topics in more detail.

The following chapters develop the aspects of care along the Best Friends model. This requires first assessing the strengths and abilities of the person receiving care (and this may require a daily update). An understanding of what persons with Alzheimer's may require is included as an `Alzheimer's Disease Bill of Rights'. These are important, and often overlooked, so I shall reprint them here:

Every person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder deserves the following rights:

- To be informed of one's diagnosis
- To have appropriate, ongoing medical care
- To be productive in work and play for as long as possible
- To be treated like an adult, not like a child
- To have expressed feelings taken seriously
- To be free from psychotropic medications, if possible
- To live in a safe, structured, and predictable environment
- To enjoy meaningful activities that fill each day
- To be outdoors on a regular basis
- To have physical contact, including hugging, caressing, and hand-holding
- To be with individuals who know one's life story, including cultural and religious traditions
- To be cared for by individuals who are well trained in dementia care

A key point to being a Best Friend is that the caregiver becomes a memory aid to the person -- friends know each others' histories. Being reminded of past accomplishments, family connections, personal beliefs and traditions helps tremendously. It gets them involved in their own lives again.

Friends do many things: they share history, they do things together, they communicate, they build self-esteem, they laugh often, they work at the relationship, and they are equals. These carry over as key concepts in the Best Friends model. Bell and Troxel go into some detail about how to handle situations for the full-time caregiver, the volunteer, and for those who visit persons with Alzheimer's in care. Specific situations and general principles are presented in a clear, intelligible manner with great application potential.

An important part of the process of understanding and dealing with those with Alzheimer's is to understand oneself. Thus, there is a section on Being One's Own Best Friend. How do we react and respond? Do we give ourselves enough care? How can we care for others if we do not care for ourselves? How do we respect the needs and desires of those we care for while recognising and respecting our own needs? These are important questions, and Bell and Troxel address it by illustrating the relationship between Rebecca and Jo, her Best Friend.

`Because any of us can be touched by Alzheimer's disease, can have bad things happen to us, our friends, or our families, the ultimate message the authors wish to convey is this: We should treat everyone important to us as we would our own Best Friend.'

Seeing the Helping Hands Adult Day Care program, which is the fruit of the philosophy of this work, was a life changing event for me. The caring and love shown by the staff of Helping Hands are living testiment to the dedication of workers to improve the quality of life for clients affected by the devastation of Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias. If all facilities, both assisted living and nursing homes, truly invested in this approach, life would indeed be different for the persons affected by this disease and their caregivers. A definite must for those struggling with the problems of caregiving those with Alzheimer's disease.

Simple yet profound new way of caring about people with Alzheimer's. Easy to read with practical use.

This book does a great job of explaining the symptoms of ADD.

The explanations are detailed, well written and easy to read. Recommend this book for anyone, if they want to really understand ADD.

This book has a special ability to make a non-ADD person empathize with the behavioral aspects of an ADD person.

Gives various reasons for ADD, some traditional and some not as traditional. Very helpful to the self-image of people with ADD and clarifies that society is part of the problem. Some key points include;

1) Education is conditioning and is particularly hostile to children with ADD.

2) ADD is now an industry with victimization and illness now fashionable.

3) The industrialized world provides an environment particularly challenging for people with ADD for reasons such as lack of exercise, lack of exposure to sunlight and too much television.

This review appeared in the Annotated Bibliography of Learning A Living, A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia

Far be it for me to even read a book. At 41, I started and run a public company. My 10 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4. This book not only helped me understand my son, it helped me understand myself. The result, I finally understood a logical explanation on why I thought I was different for so many years, and my son and I have never been closer. The challenges and the theories found in the book are incredible. I felt I was reading an explanation of how I think and act (or react). I wasn't looking for something to believe in, or to justify certain behaviors. However, almost every sentence drew me closer to the edge of my chair - just to see how my son and I operate. Thank you Dr. Hartmann!

So many books look at ADD as a "problem" that must be diagnosed and dealt with. Thom Hartmann looks at ADD another way, a way that makes a lot of sense! This book is a MUST read for anyone who has ADD or anyone who knows someone with ADD and wants to understand. The Hunter/Farmer explanation puts it all into perspective. I am an adult with ADD, and the parent of a child with ADD. I often use Hartmann's theory when explaining ADD to other people. It is positive and empowering.

This book really drills deep into the topic of ADD - why we're seeing it, what it is, why so many diagnoses, what can be done. Very impressive depth.

BEYOND MEDICINE: Exploring a New Way of Thinking by Dr. Richard A. DiCenso is a rewarding guide to personal change and improved health. Readers will explore the realms of Vicious Cycle Disorders (VCD) impacting health and wellness in today's society.

Not feeling well is not normal. Unresolved symptoms could indicate a life out of balance. How strongly do these words resonate? You, may be suffering from VCD. BEYOND MEDICINE, teaches why VCD develops, common signs of VCD, how to identify the symptoms of VCD, and what you can do about it.

Dr. DiCenso details the three primary realms in which Human beings function: the physical, biochemical, and psycho-emotional-spiritual or "virtual". Insightfully explaining that, "Unless balance exists among and within the realms, day-to-day life reflects discrepancies in the form of physical ailments, physiological dysfunction, and/or emotional distress."

Learning that our thoughts, which exist in the virtual realm, can perpetuate VCD was profound. Accepting responsibility for an out of balance life is a hard truth. As individuals, we literally are what we think. The book serves as a wonderful resource for individuals desiring improved health and also for those who are proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The importance of the mind-body-spirit connection and overall health is significant.

By changing our thoughts and "Exploring a New Way of Thinking", BEYOND MEDICINE, it is possible to improve your quality of life. I highly recommend this powerful and inspiring book.

Beyond Medicine: Exploring A New Way Of Thinking by Dr. Richard A. DiCenso is an interpretive study of the mind, and the effectiveness of neurological and psychological order over drugs and surgery. Offering the reader an invaluable body of knowledge from years of experience with Vicious Cycle Disorder, Beyond Medicine informs its readers of the most frequent reasonings for the cause of VCD, common signs of VCD, identification of normal symptoms of VCD, and how to create a healing mentality and alteration of the pains which VCD causes. Beyond Medicine is very strongly recommended to those who are struggling to identify health issues arising from the condition of VCD.

Ever more clinicians are recognizing the limitations of the biomedical model of illness and the importance of considering not only the psychological, social, subtle and spiritual components of the human organism, but also how they each change over time.

This time factor is critically important. Time runs at different speeds and even in different directions in each of these five domains. It is also important because a good healer soon learns that time management is considerably less important than energy management: time provides the structure but energy provides the dynamic power that enables our lives and the lives of our patients to flourish. While time is limited, energy is not. Or rather it should not be. But sometimes we do our best to sabotage it. Instead of relying upon contacting and using our inner energy, we steal it from other people or rely on the quick fixes of caffeine, sugar or a hundred other suboptimal solutions that leave their tracks in each of the five domains.

But underlying time and the five domains, there is a timeless, dynamic, intelligent blueprint - often called the Informational Matrix - that constantly generates the plans and strategies that keep us alive. When we lose touch with that Source we either become sick or die. Physical medicine, herbs, nutrition, postural work and energy medicine are all essential components of treatment and health maintenance, but over the last three decades, ever more therapists have been interested in doing more than treating people who have already "fallen off the cliff:" Nobody wants to move the deckchairs on the Titanic! So in addition to physical and energy medicine, there has, since the early 1980s been growing interest in "Information Medicine."

If it is indeed possible to influence the Informational Matrix, then we might be getting at the root of the problem. And that should in turn direct the subtle systems of the body. That does not mean a "get out of jail free card!" Our efforts could yet be thwarted by poor lifestyle choices, though those choices become less common as we work with people's information systems.

There is a second observation that has been known by specialists for many years, and that is the concept of the pain cycle. Many people with chronic headache or intractable back pain may no longer have any obvert physical pathology, yet the pain will not budge: they have entered a chronic pain cycle, that is probably mediated by some precise circuits in the thalamus of the brain. But you can be sure that these chronic problems have also left their imprint in the other systems of the body. The pain is not solely psychological or psychosomatic. It is as real as having a pin inserted into your forearm. It is surprising to find how few therapists have been taught about or discovered these pain cycles. And it is not just pain: many pathological patterns can establish vicious circles in the body or mind that are similar to obsessive ruminations, obsessive-compulsive thoughts or an ohrwurm that has occupied someone's mind.

The trouble is that these vicious circles can sometimes be very hard to break.

This book by Richard DiCenso is an extremely important contribution and propels the whole field of information medicine forward, with what he calls "Vicious Cycle Disorders," and his novel approaches to treating them.

Richard starts by speaking of his initial frustration about trying to treat the 20% of the population who have chronic symptoms for which there is no readily apparent cause. Sometimes these people are given an array of diagnoses or interpretations of their symptoms such as "chronic fatigue syndrome," "sub-clinical hypothyroidism," "adrenal fatigue" or "Candida infections," all of which may be present, but the underlying problem is of a life out of balance. The cutting edge of medicine is not molecular biology or brain science. They are important and knowledge about them essential. But the real progress is being made in a new science: the science of re-integration. The reintegration of mind, body and spirit.

Richard has an ambitious goal: "to develop a working mode for behaviors that lead to a life of conscious co-creation and fulfillment."

Yet his novel approaches have made these goals attainable in a unique way. First the book contains a great many useful techniques for dealing with problems like repetitive thoughts and nutritional deficiencies. Second he has devised something called a "Matrix Assessment Profile" that helps pinpoint some of the precise disturbances in the body that are causing symptoms. He has created a very informative website containing a lot of information about the evaluation and how to get it done.

Richard DiCenso has created a wonderful healing system based on the essential truth that the future of the healing arts lies in whole person therapy.

Highly recommended.


Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

Dr. Richard Dicenso has written a very thought provoking book that explores healing and illness from a truly holistic model. His perspective encompasses not only the physical manifestations of imbalance, but also the too often ignored realms of emotion, consciousness and spirit. This is a book that you will want to read more than once because it is filled with wisdom and insight. I found this book very inspiring and a source of hope as well as practical guidance for all those seeking to achieve balance and wellness in their lives. Dr. Dicenso's book is one of the best books on healing that I have ever read.

Beyond Medicine is THE BOOK for our times and especially for the doctors and patients of the USA who have been brought up to believe that fixing illness is no more sophisticated than treating symptoms much as "Click and Clack the Tapet Brothers" might listen to the symptoms of a dysfunctional car and come up with a diagnosis on their National Public Radio program. It is vindication for all of those suffering from symptoms for which there seems to be no overt cause. It affirms the incredible complexity and mystery that is the human experience and gives hope to sufferers by outlining a matrix of considerations and activities that may treat the causes of disease instead of merely addressing the complaints. If you are interested in health, either yours or others, this book is a must read.