Basic statistics and epidemiology: a practical guide.: Antony Stewart. (156 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-589-8.

This book is offered as an "alternative primer in basic statisticsand epidemiology and their practical use." With this objectivein mind, I can say that this book achieves its     

Narrative-based primary care: a practical guide.: John Launer. (264 pages, {pound}21.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-539-1.

Patients tell all kinds of stories about their lives, oftenemotionally charged, sometimes funny, but always enriching.This is grist to the doctor’s mill, that makes personalmedicine so rewarding to practise. It is important for patientsto know that their stories have been heard and understood. Thevery     

e-Appraisal: a guide for primary care.: Paul Robinson, Louise Simpson (120 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-85775-961-3.

EARs, PUNs and DENs are some of the new watchwords for GPs inthe UK as they face mandatory re-appraisal on an annual basis.Repeated appraisals which are satisfactory will ensure continuedrevalidation to continue in practice. The authors of this     

Good people, good practice: a practical guide to managing personnel in the new primary care organisations.: Hilary Haman, Sally Irvine. (233 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2001. ISBN 1-85775-417-4.

Today’s primary care managers are faced with an increasingwork load and frequent organizational changes. This excellentbook will prove most helpful as it clearly and simply explainsmany     

Time limited therapy in primary care: a person-centred dialogue. Richard Bryant-Jefferies. (171 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-85775-999-0.

This unpromising title covers an interesting book about counsellingin primary care. The author is an experienced counsellor whoworks in a general practice and is schooled in the techniquedeveloped by Carl Rogers and here described as the person-centredapproach (PCA)—the discipline in which at least     

Sexual health matters in primary care.: Gill Wakley, Ruth Chambers. (214 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-414-X.

In 1990, the WHO estimated that unsafe sex accounted for 2%of worldwide adult mortality and 3.5% of morbidity. The seeminglyinexorable advance of most sexually transmitted infections sincethen means that these proportions are now likely to be underestimates.The UK tops     

Obesity and overweight matters in primary care.: Ruth Chambers, Gill Wakley. (196 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-514-6.

In the developed countries with unprecedented prosperity, obesityhas become a major scourge to health. The prevalence rate ofobesity has increased rapidly in recent     

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     

Ethics, management and mythology: rational decision making for health service professionals.: Michael Loughlin. (304 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-574-X.

A quick glance at the subtitle might suggest that this bookwas another attempt to provide quick practical answers to allthose difficult decisions that we face as health service professionals.If so, readers will be disappointed by the end of page 6. I     

A long walk home.: Rachel Clark, with Naomi Jefferies, John Hasler and David Pendleton. (149 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-906-0.

Faced with the diagnosis of an exceptionally rare alveolar rhabdomyosarcomain the ethmoid sinus and a very poor prognosis, Rachel Clarkset out to write down her thoughts about her cancer and itstreatment, and the effects of both on her friends, her     

Mapping health on the internet: strategies for learning in an information age.: Ross Scrivener. (122 pages, {pound}19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd, 2002. ISBN 1-85775-593-6.

Busy practitioners and other health professionals may feel thatthey do not have time to grapple with the Internet, with itsenormous wealth of dubious information. However, patients donot all take this view. A recent study from Denmark,¹ while