Family violence in primary care.: Stephen Amiel, Iona Heath (eds). (440 pages, {pound}32.50.) Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-262828-3.

I write this review in the same week that I received the ‘Summaryand Recommendations of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry’.The accompanying letter informs me that the full report wouldcost £42 to issue. The ‘Summary’ is 49 pageslong and contains 108 recommendations.     

Concise Oxford textbook of medicine on CD-ROM.: JGG Ledingham, DA Warrell (eds). (1 CD, {pound}75.) Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19268-805-7.

I had my laptop stolen the week after I received this CD andwhen I tried to install the disc on the old heap I use at work,it crashed my system. New wine, old wineskins. I’ve written a few CDs myself and learnt the hard wayhow to take account of the plodding obsessive, the hypertext     

Complexity and healthcare: an introduction.: Kieran Sweeney, Frances Griffiths (eds). (208 pages, {pound}24.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-559-6.

Complexity is topical. I’ve always known general practiceis complex, but I’ve tried to understand it by lookingfor ‘those underlying simple rules’. This book persuasivelyargues that the rules are not necessarily simple. A complexsystem cannot necessarily be understood by taking it apart andexamining the     

Ethical issues in health care on the frontiers of the twenty-first century.: Stephen Wear, James J Bono, Gerald Logue, Adrianne McEvoy (eds). (342 pages, {pound}93, US$149.) Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, 2000. ISBN 0-7923-6277-2.

Frontier is a confusing word. In 1965, I remember waking upin a West Berlin campsite. I had pitched the tent by a wallin the dark the previous night and found to my alarm that Iwas now facing The Wall—the famous frontier of frontierswhich Gorbachov later dismantled. But for Americans the ‘f’word has different resonances. It     

Basic Statistics and Epidemiology: A Practical Guide: Antony Stewart Radcliffe Medical Press, Oxford (2002) 151 pp. ISBN 1-85775-589-8

In my more excitable moments, I would support books like theseproviding some sort of ennoblement for their heroic authors,a national accolade of thanks on behalf of that impoverishedand deprived minority—the innumerate, the terrified ones,those who cannot mention the ‘S’ word without faintbrushings of perspiration glistening on their upper lips. Thisbook is one of those great ‘KISS’ books (Keep ItSimple, Stupid); an easy, made to be understood book that eventhe     

Practical diabetes care. Second edition.: Rowan Hillson. (237 pages, {pound}29.50.) Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-263290.

In the days when newly diagnosed diabetic patients were referredautomatically to hospital and I was wrestling with calculatinginsulin doses depending on whether its strength was 40 or 80units, GPs tended mainly to follow the specialist’s orders.Medicine moves     

Beyond advice: 1. Becoming a motivational practitioner.: Richard J Botelho. (271 pages, US$30.) Motivate Healthy Habits, 2002. ISBN 0-9706738-2-5.Beyond advice: 2. Developing motivational skills.Richard Botelho. (222 pages, US$25.) Motivate Healthy Habits, 2002. ISBN 0-9706738-1-7.

These two books are a new and exciting experience in a varietyof ways. First, they are ‘self-published’ by theauthor which means that you visit the author’s website(www.MotivateHealthyHabits.com) and he then uses a web-based     

Measurement tools in patient education. Second edition.: Barbara K Redman. (486 pages, US$78.80.) Springer Publishing Company, 2003. ISBN 0-8261-9859-7.

This is a cookbook of recipes to evaluate patients’ perceptionsabout—well—about quite a lot of things actually.The main body of the book describes 86 instruments for measuringpatients’ beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, decision     

Evolving health: the origins of illness and how the modern world is making us sick.: Noel Boaz. (256 pages, {pound}20.95 (US$27.95).) John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2002. ISBN 0-471-35261-6.

Noel Boaz has a PhD and an MD. He is a biological anthropologistand also a professor of anatomy. Does that mean he knows whathe’s not talking about? He’s confident enough butI am left feeling uneasy. He has a broad sweeping evolutionaryexplanation of all     

Evaluation in Health Promotion: Principles and Perspectives: Irving Rootman, Michael Goodstadt, Brian Hyndman, David V. McQueen, Louise Potvin, Jane Springett and Erio Ziglio (eds) WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen (2001) 533 pp. ISBN 92-890-1359-1

This compendious work on evaluation consists of 23 chaptersincorporating contributions from 52 internationally recognizedauthors in the field of evaluation and health promotion. Readingit is a not insubstantial task—but certainly worth theeffort. The book, like Gaul, is divided into three main parts. One ofthese, labelled ‘Perspectives’, consists of eightchapters that offer a variety of valuable insights into keyissues that are at the heart of contemporary debate about evaluatinghealth promotion initiatives. The authors clearly demonstrateone of the main reasons why the ‘gold standard’,randomized controlled trial is entirely inappropriate to     

Well women: the gendered nature of health care provision.: Anne Morris, Susan Nott (eds). (182 pages, {pound}47.50.) Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-84014-720-2.

This collection of eight essays explores the intersection betweenlaw and health care from a feminist perspective. The centralthesis is that health care is ‘gendered’; that aperson’s experience of health care will differ accordingto their gender. This thesis is developed by looking at     

Medical teaching in ambulatory care (second edition). Warren Rubenstein, Yves Talbot. (148 pages, US$36.80.) Springer Publishing Company, 2003. ISBN 0-8261-7691-7

This slim, readable book sets out to help clinicians teach medicalstudents and post-graduate trainees in ‘ambulatory care’(family practice or out-patients). It follows the teaching careerof a hypothetical doctor (Dr ZZ Smith) who enjoyed teachingwhile in     

Supervision and support in primary care. Jonathan Burton, John Launer (eds). (177 pages, {pound}24.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-85775-951-6.

This new book, which unashamedly focuses on the needs of GPs,will strike a chord with anyone who is involved in developingand supporting doctors. It boldly goes into those areas thatare seen as ‘difficult’ by those undertaking theformal     

Professional development: a guide for general practice.: Robin While, Margareth Attwood. (192 pages, {pound}20.95.) Blackwell Science Ltd, 2000. ISBN 0-632-05629-0.

This book is a ‘must have’ for all general practices.It brings together all you need to know or might want to knowabout Professional Development. It sets out to be a practicalbook and in 180 pages it covers     

Marathon medicine.: Dan Tunstall-Pedoe (ed.). (348 pages, {pound}19.95.) Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd, 2000. ISBN 1-85315-460-1.

If there was to be an award for the most readable digest ofall medical matters relating to running marathons, then DanTunstall-Pedoe’s latest volume must surely stand a winningchance. The contents are based on discussions     

The resourceful patient.: JA Muir Gray. (173 pages, {pound}14.50.) eRosetta Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-904202-00-4.

A thousand years ago the Chinese invented moveable type, whileJohann Gutenberg developed the printing press in 1450, and nowMuir Gray, with Harry Rutter, has created a simultaneous conventionalpaper, web-site, and electronic (‘e-book’) publication.The format is revolutionary, but what of the content?     

Medical genetics at a glance. Dorian J Pritchard, Bruce R Korf. (115 pages, {pound}14.95.) Blackwell Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-632-06372-6

‘Medical Genetics at a Glance’ is written from theperspective of a medical geneticist. It is ideal for clinicianswho desire a brief, if densely packed, overview of the wholefield and for medical students who need to pass their finalexamination. Each topic is given two pages, one for     

Gunnar Tellnes (ed.). Urbanisation and health new challenges in health promotion and prevention. Oslo: Unipubforlag, Oslo Academic Press, 2005. 350 pp. ISBN 82-7477-208-3

This book aims to provide a summary of new developments in publichealth. Its contents are mostly based on presentations readat the 2004 meeting of the European Public Health Associationin Oslo. These presentations constitute the 31 chapters of thisbook which have been subdivided into broader areas such as ‘Nutrition,physical activity and tobacco’ and ‘Health inequalities,     

Cultivating health: cultural perspectives on promoting health.: Malcolm MacLachlan (ed.). (240 pages, hardback {pound}45.) John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2001. ISBN 0-471-97725-X.

As a cautionary example of inept, culturally insensitive healthpromotion, the UK government-sponsored ‘Back to Basics’moral crusade in Britain in the early 1990s is salutary. Britishtabloid newspapers were effectively licensed to demonstratetime and again the     

Health targets in Europe: polity, progress and promise.: Marshall Marinker (ed.). (248 pages, {pound}19.95.) BMJ Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-7279-1642-4.

This book is a bit different. The title made me groan with adisappointment only mitigated by Marshall Marinker’s nameas editor. But the book itself contained some fascinating surprisesand made a lively tutorial on European health systems. Aftera characteristically wide-ranging editorial introduction onevidence and imagination,