Review

Organised thinking

THE HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY READER
David F Marks (ed)
Sage, 2002, £19.99

Health psychology is a complex subject but one many health students need to address, since it links to so many aspects of care at so many levels. Students can be quite intimidated by it.

This book was an absolute joy to read and offers a comprehensive review of health psychology. It is clearly divided into five areas: definition, theories, behaviour, beliefs and critical health psychology.

Any interested student can focus on the specific aspect of health psychology their studies call for, and within each section notable names abound and respected authors are placed together in a way that combines to produce a very readable volume.

The text is well supported by a mass of references, useful diagrams to illustrate points and a comprehensive index, but it is really the juxtaposition of authors and ideas that allows it to make very readable sense of what can sometimes be a daunting subject.

The editor has organised the contributions in such a way as to minimise the possibility of side-tracking. At the same time, it is actually possible to read the book all the way through and – at the end – to feel that one has grasped the essentials of an important topic, because it has been presented in a systematic manner.

This book should become a classic – necessary reading for students in all branches of health. Nursing students will find it invaluable, but other students – and their teachers – will also find it very useful.

Sage have added a valuable and important text to their already impressive list, and Marks can be complimented on his scholarly organisation of complex topics into an accessible and readable whole. No library should be without it and serious students should invest in a copy of their own.