Electric Review - Rat on Reference

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MEDICINE

For The Plastic Surgeon &

Facial/Head/Neck Surgeons & Otolaryngologists

ATLAS OF AESTHETIC FACE AND NECK SURGERY. Gregory LaTrenta. M.D. W.B. Saunders. This atlas provides a detailed over view of how surgeons should approach procedures of the head and neck. During a time when elective plastic surgeries are becoming more and more common place, this manual illuminates how the physician can best approach these sometimes difficult cases. Moreover, Face and Neck strives to look beyond the instant of knife cutting skin; instead, it expertly guides the surgeon on ways to approach and manage the complicated proposal of invading the delicate tissues that comprise the human face, neck and eye.

What’s best about this atlas is the way LaTrenta presents his material: well-organized chapters come complete with concluding summaries that offer the physician clearly delineated reference points. Information is further augmented by full-color illustrations that demonstrate how procedures are performed (rather than merely "lecturing" on paper). This aspect of Face and Neck is quite important because it fosters an immediate interaction between writer and reader - an in depth "hands on" demonstration of the various approaches to facial and head surgeries.

This book is written (and recommended) for the practicing plastic surgeon and for other experts dealing with treatment of the head and face. It would also prove useful to Health Science libraries as a general reference text. However, because the book is so specific, it is not recommended as a general classroom text: these outlines presuppose the reader has some mastery of a subject matter which goes beyond the skill level of the medical student.

Order from Amazon.com or go to http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com

For The Orbital Surgeon/Ophthalmologist

MANUAL OF ENDOSCOPIC LACRIMAL AND ORBITAL SURGERY. John J. Woog (with 24 other contributors). Butterworth Heinemann. This book, by Harvard Medical School Professor John Woog, examines surgical procedures of the eye and its surrounding systems -- the first text of its kind to deeply explore the various endoscopic approaches now being used in both orbital and lacrimal surgeries. Woog and his co-writers do a superb job here in introducing readers to these complex ideas in a cogent and comprehensive manner.

First, Woog provides a refresher course in the basic anatomy of the lacrimal "outflow system" (including orbit, nose and paranasal sinuses). This segues into a detailed analysis of how to diagnosis and treat disorders of the lacrimal and orbital systems. The authors do a fine job in discussing both Congenital and Acquired Dacryostenosis and ways that these obstructions of the tear ducts can best be treated to limit patient complications. The text comes complete with a CD-ROM that provides video clips of the surgical procedures discussed - a feature that allows the physician to immediately test what he’s learned and then apply it to the surgery room. Another unique feature to the text is Woog’s analysis of Dacryostenosis in both Western and Asian patients (note Chapter 9: "Endoscopic DCR: An Eastern Perspective"). Also note-worthy is the information on Endoscopic uses in orbital fracture repair -- again, this refinement of procedure is about limiting patient suffering while promoting shorter periods of convalescence.

This is a magnificent text, highly recommended for both Orbital Surgeons, Ear Nose and Throat physicians and Ophthalmologists, with the information conveyed in a practical and well-thought out manner. Priced at only $99, Manual Of Endoscopic Lacrimal and Orbital Surgery provides a comprehensive exploration into eye and facial surgeries that doctors simply can’t afford not to have in their offices. Also recommended for Health Science libraries as an authoritative reference text.

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For The Urologist

PATHOLOGY FOR UROLOGISTS. Greg MacLennan. Martin I. Resnick. David G. Bostwick. W.B. Saunders. This manual is designed for the physician focused on earning certification in the practice of urology. The authors have come up with a unique approach here, in that they are able to discuss various urologic pathologies in the terms of the practicing clinician -- deviating from other similar texts that speak to these conditions from the limited perspective of the x-ray room and the pathology lab. In this regard, Pathology marks a real break through and offers a book that will be of immediate value to both urologists and internists world-wide.

MacLennan, Resnick and Bostwick have taken the classical approach to writing this text, moving through material by analyzing each of the separate organ systems that comprise urology (including detailed analysis of both benign and malignant afflictions of the adrenal glands, kidney, renal pelvis, ureter, bladder, prostate, seminal vesicles, urethra, spermatic cord, testis, testicular adnexae, penis, and scrotum). The writers are careful to present text in a clear and concise manner as they show system-by-system how to evaluate pathology reports to best treat the varied needs of the patient. Urology has become a very complex sub-specialty during the last quarter century, with many surgical and medical advances in ways that the physician is now able to identify and then attack the presence of disease. Accordingly, Pathology serves as a step-by-step guide that will assist the urologist on this mission. Well-illustrated, with over 500 color plates that show the shapes and forms that urologic abnormalities take within the myriad tissue walls of the human body.

Recommended for all practicing physicians who are contemplating a specialty practice as a urologist. Also would be useful as a teaching text for advanced students regarding each of the organ systems referenced above. Also would be a quality edition to any Health Science library as a general reference text.

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For The Cardiologist

A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO CARDIAC ANESTHESIA. Frederick A. Hensley. Donald E. Martin. Glenn P. Gravlee. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins. This manual is meant for the practicing anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, cardiologist and cardiac surgeon, surveying practical methods of anesthesia as they relate to the cardiac patient. Well-written and expertly detailed, the third edition of Practical Cardiac provides medical scientists with a first-rate reference guide that has been designed to be used - in the office and in the operating room. Simply, this text is about bringing information to the doctor so that he can apply it to the patient in the direct course of treatment.

There are many outstanding features which separate Practical Cardiac from other similar handbooks, but it’s best feature is in its outline format, a feature that allows the reader to answer questions quickly and logically and thoroughly - an in depth analysis of a complex subject matter in a simple to use package.

In the world of medicine, the idea of anesthesia isn’t very glamorous -- not when it’s compared to the work of cardiac surgeons whose very hands nurse the diseased heart back to health. However, the way that a patient is anesthetized is paramount to whether they will survive surgery. Accordingly, Practical Cardiac investigates these concepts in deep detail, examining how the anesthesiologist should approach the management of different kinds cardiac patients, exploring treatment options from converse angles. Readers will be enriched on many different levels, by information on pain management and by the very useful data that’s provided on new drugs now being used on cardiac-compromised individuals. Analysis of cardiac transplantation, circulatory support and organ preservation is also offered, with smart use of diagrams and graphs to support the authors’ point of view.

We would recommend this manual to all physicians involved in surgically treating cardiac patients. Moreover, it is a logical choice as a teaching text in the field, for it affords anesthesiology students a comprehensive and easy to use tool that brings the most up-to-date information to the classroom (and to the operating room). Would be further recommended to all Health Science libraries as a general reference text.

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HIV INFECTION AND THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM. Editor: Giuseppe Barbaro. Karger. In terms of cardiovascular studies, this marks a new slant on an old subject. Most cardiovascular texts confront the general mechanics of heart disease and review the most common disorders and causes the physician is likely to find in the course of his practice. However, HIV looks at cardiovascular disease from a different and highly specialized perspective, examining the affects the HIV Infection has on various forms of heart disease (most notably coronary artery disease and cardiomyopathy):

"A congestive (dilated) cardiomyopathy may be identified in both adult and pediatric AIDS patients. By echocardiography, the prevalence of cardiac muscle disease is 15% in HIV-positive patients. Most of these cases are idiopathic, for no specific opportunistic infection or neoplasm can be identified. Patients with symptomatic heart failure from dilated cardiomyopathy typically present late in the course of AIDS [...]It is possible that cardiomyopathy and myocarditis are both immunologic phenomena resulting from HIV-containing lymphocytes in cardiac muscle..."

Page-27

As journalists or casual observers, most of us view AIDS in terms of the wasting of muscle that typically occurs as the disease progresses. Moreover, many of us are aware of the Karposi Sarcoma and the bouts of impaired immunity that plague those with the malady. However, this text shows its readers that AIDS has far-reaching affects on all the organ systems, often resulting in a deep reduction of heart function (this is even more common-place now that patients are living longer through advances in treatment).

Giuseppe Barbaro(University ‘La Sapienza,’ Rome) has done a terrific job in editing these chapters and tying the essays together. Part one of the text reviews AIDS related heart disease in terms of epidemiology, examining the different ways the disease attacks heart function. The rest of the book is dedicated to analysis on how the clinician should approach treatment (with valuable exploration into the interaction between antiretroviral therapies and various cardiac medications). A first-rate text written for the practicing clinician or researcher, HIV presents the latest data on the ways the AIDS virus masks and manifests itself in its attack on human tissue.

Recommended to Health Science libraries as a general reference on AIDS. Also recommended as a reference text for cardiologists or internists who see AIDS patients regularly. However, the highly specialized nature of this subject matter would make it inappropriate for the internist who does not treat AIDS patients.

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LAW AND RELATED LEGAL TOPICS

MEDIATE, DON’T LITIGATE. Strategies for Successful Mediation. Peter Lovenheim and Attorney Lisa Guerin. Nolo Press.

Reviewed by Retired Judge Paul J. Aiello

Mediate, Don’t Litigate is a timely, welcome and worthy addition to the Nolo library, appearing at a time when mediation has gained both acceptance and respect in both the legal and business communities.

In the fast-paced world of the 21st century, mediation clauses have become commonplace in almost every real estate, employment, and health care contract. Moreover, courts are looking to mediation as just one part of a larger ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) tool-kit that will help to reduce its caseloads and provide disputants with an inexpensive, less formal mechanism by which to resolve or settle their cases. Many counties are now establishing mandatory mediation programs for most civil cases, finding it an effective means of conflict management. For these reasons, it is essential that everyone should develop a fundamental understanding about mediation as an ADR method. Mediate, provides a one-stop resource from which that basic knowledge can be obtained.

Co-written by a longtime professional mediator and one of Nolo’s own legal editors, each of the authors are well-credentialed to write about the subject of mediation. The contents have the imprimatur of the depth of their background, experience, and scholarship. They are knowledgeable not only about the broader process of mediation, but also its "fine-tuned" nuances and the book should help both lawyers and lay persons better prepare for and participate in this particular dispute resolution format.

Mediate is written in an understandable, readable, user-friendly style that contributes to its value. It has been prepared with the clear intention to assist both lay persons and lawyers unfamiliar with mediation understand the process through a step-by-step "guided tour" where the basic principles are broken down and explained simply and directly.

Lovenheim and Guerin proceed from the premise that mediation may provide a better answer for people than the more traditional "day in court" mind-set. In comparing mediation with other forms of dispute resolution in the book’s opening chapters, readers will quickly discover the flexibility of mediation by seeing how the same techniques have been used successfully in a myriad of contexts, including complex business disputes, employment relationships, landlord-tenant, consumer-merchant, neighbor-neighbor, or divorce and custody cases. The book also explains both the factors which favor and oppose mediation to help the reader make an informed decision as to whether mediation will make sense in a specific dispute and therefore should be considered in place of litigation.

Mediate covers a wide range of important basic information, including:

Where to find a mediator and factors to help you choose the right mediator;
How to get a mediation started;
How to prepare for a mediation, including evidence gathering and deciding who should attend;
How to write an agreement that will work for all of the interested parties.

Mediate treats the reader to an in-depth discussion of mediation in three specific contexts: (1) Divorce; (2) Business Disputes; and (3) Employment disputes, noting specific types of issues likely to emerge and considerations useful to their resolution. The book is at its best, however, when it actually takes you inside the mediation room, placing the reader in one of the chairs around the conference table and actually making you one of the disputing parties:

"The caucus is a private meeting between you and the mediator, during which the mediator can talk with you more informally and candidly than if the other side were present. Some mediators consider it the "guts" of the mediation…"

(pg. 6/27)

"To help you arrive at a solution to your dispute, your mediator has to get both parties to change their positions (or simply to see that their positions don’t really conflict.) One way to do this is to question the correctness or wisdom of the position you expressed in your opening statement. The mediator’s questions will be designed to make you wonder if you are being realistic about your case."

(pg. 6/29)

"An important part of the mediator’s job is to help you think of new ways to resolve your dispute. People caught up in a conflict often get stuck seeing only one perspective…To help you move off the dime, your mediator might ask you questions like these:

" How would you really like to see this dispute resolved, from a practical perspective?"

"What are some ways of settling this dispute that would be fair to you and the other side?"

( pg. 6/31)

In this section of Mediate, the authors outline in detail the six stages of the process: (1) Mediator’s opening statement; (2) Disputants’ opening statements; (3) Joint discussion; (4) Caucus; (5) Joint discussion; and (6) Closure The authors then explain the mediator’s role in organizing the issues, challenging your position, giving you a reality check, and helping to create settlement options. Particularly valuable are insights into how can a party can use the mediator to assist in the negotiation process. After reading the material in this section, one should be able to participate meaningfully in a mediation with a full understanding of what to expect.

Lovenheim and Guerin have done an exemplary job in educating their audience on a very complex topic. Anyone contemplating mediation should make this book a must-read in preparation for what they will encounter.

Paul J. Aiello is a retired Judge from Northern California who serves as Legal Editor for The Electric Review. Educated at The University of California, Berkeley and at U.C. Berkeley’s School of Law, Aiello has conducted hundreds of mediations and arbitrations since 1992. Aiello is also on the adjunct faculty at College of The Siskiyous in Weed, California, where he has taught courses in the Social Sciences and Humanities. He can be reached through The Electric Review (see home page email link).

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ORGANIZED CRIME. Howard Abadinsky. Thomson/Wadsworth. Since its inception, the population at large has been intrigued by the idea of the Mafia and organized crime groups. And from "The Untouchables," to "The Godfather" to "The Sopranos," writers and film directors have sought to capture the ‘real life’ scenes of how the mob operates -- winning Emmies and Oscars along the way.

However, Organized, now in its seventh edition, does all these efforts one better -- for this is a text examining the real deal, no lead actors or script doctors, just facts and analysis on how syndicates of criminals come together to thrive and get rich. Organized, written by Howard Abadinsky, examines the concept of criminal enterprise from the idea of structure, analyzing changes within organized criminal associations and how by being willing to change with the times these groups are able to maintain power and control. Meticulously written and careful to honor every detail, Organized takes us through the concept of crime step-by-step, showing students what "organized crime" is and then breaking down its historical ‘life.’ First, Abadinsky explores organized crime in the United States (including wonderful chapters on the New York and Chicago factions, before moving into the very specialized world of African American criminal movements). From that, Abadinsky takes us through the ethnicity of crime, from major Italian movements through the Asian gangs, finally breaking down the business of crime and how money is made and stolen goods turned into cash. In the final chapters, the ways law enforcement has dealt with organized groups of criminals is examined, including a review of the United States statutes that serve as the controlling law in this area.

This comprehensive textbook has many new and interesting angles, but what’s most intriguing is the material on outlaw biker groups. Much of this information is new, and it will hold a searching student spellbound as the myths of "Angels" is dissected line by line. Moreover, Abadinsky’s style of writing is friendly and journalistic -- he’s like a newspaper columnist writing a long feature: rather than driving students away with a coarse and dry sociological "study," he instead draws us in with by cutting into the reasons of a mythical phenomenon, opening us up to the question of why so many men have chosen this as their life’s work. Appropriate undergraduate text in criminology and sociology courses; also worthwhile text to be used in Administration of Justice courses at the undergraduate level. Recommended as a general reference in all college level libraries.

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INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINOLOGY. Brendan Maguire. Polly F. Radosh. West/Wadsworth. Excellent and revolutionary text in that it is more than an over-view of the theories and types of criminology. Instead, Maguire and Radosh force the student to first develop and then employ critical thinking skills in order to understand why crime occurs (and why they have developed their own personal perceptions about it):

"Marxist criminology explains crime as a product of capitalist social relations. The powerful in society (capitalists) determine what behaviors are defined as criminal and otherwise control the workings of the criminal justice system. The Marxist theory of crime further suggests that most crimes committed by the powerless are in response to social exploitation and repression."

(Page-249)

I especially liked the way these authors didn’t shy away from issues such as police brutality: by choosing to identify the fact that dirty cops exist they immediately force each student to study the issues of crime from all angles and perspectives. And it is this fact that’s unique in the world of academic writing: rather then take the easy out and tell the student what to think, Maguire and Radosh force students to learn the issues and then think for themselves. This break away from ‘formula’ should signal other textbook writers to open up their minds and examine new approaches. Highly recommended as a classroom text in both Criminal Justice and Administration of Justice courses (future police officers need to read and absorb this kind of material before being graduated from an academy). Also recommended as a general reference text in all academic libraries.

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FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY. Lawrence S. Wrightsman. Wadsworth. This text, written by Lawrence Wrightsman (a recognized authority in the field) examines the place of the Forensic Psychologist in American culture -- including the myriad roles the Forensic Psychologist plays in the US judicial system. Most of us are familiar with such psychologists testifying at high-profile murder trials, discussing the reasons as to why somebody might have committed a crime (also known as criminal profiling).

However, the work Forensic Psychologists do within the legal system goes far beyond this. The Forensic Psychologist will also act as a trial consultant in a variety of ways, perhaps most importantly in family court settings, making recommendations with regard to child custody/child visitation in the wake of divorce. Forensic Psychologists are also often called to testify in court in rape and battered women cases, describing to a jury the mental anguish victims endure. In short, Forensic Psychologists are asked to describe the inner-workings of the criminal mind in cogent and accessible ways.

Accordingly, Wrightsman has written a detailed and thorough text that avoids the tendency to lecture, instead clearly and concisely imparting information to students -- almost as if he was in court "testifying" to a jury. In preparing the student for professional service, Wrightsman (who teaches at the University of Kansas) takes time to describe job opportunities in the arena of forensic psychology, examining the various requirements of the field so that students can make informed decisions. Recommended as a classroom text, and as a general reference text at the college level.

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FIGHT YOUR TICKET IN CALIFORNIA. David W. Brown. 10th California Edition. Nolo Press.

BEAT YOUR TICKET (Go To Court And Win). David W. Brown. 3rd National Edition. Nolo Press.

This is one of The Electric Review’s consumer picks of the year, and a book every driver should own. Fight, written by Monterey, California attorney David Brown, has been published to educate you about protecting your rights (in California and beyond) from unjust traffic tickets.

In California, law enforcement offices through out the state have been besmeared in recent years with allegations of writing tickets to fill quotas and for engaging in racial profiling. And as much as we’d like to believe these things don’t happen, they most certainly do. However, as bleak as all this sounds, David Brown’s book offers a detailed analysis on just how to effectively defend yourself in court proceedings and protect your driving record:

"Finally, realize that police and prosecutors often have significant influence over the selection and retention of judges. A judge who rules too often against the prosecution may find himself running for re-election without the crucial endorsement of the police and prosecutor’s associations, and perhaps even being challenged by a former prosecutor for being ‘soft on crime.’ "

(From Beat Your Ticket at 3/8)

These are complicated times, and traffic tickets are no longer just an annoyance. Now, they have the power to follow you for years and increase insurance premiums for decades. Thus, Fight Your Ticket is required reading if your operate a motor vehicle in these United States. In his book, Brown advises that drivers should never just pay a ticket without first examining the situation completely. In Fight, Brown describes how to read and assess whether you should fight it out in court or request traffic school. Fight also includes a tremendous amount of detail regarding applicable Vehicle Code sections and the elements prosecutors much satisfy in order to win a conviction (all meant to help successfully prepare you for trial).

Fight, published by Nolo Press (Nolo has been publishing self-help legal books since 1971) is about protecting your rights as a citizen and as a driver. Even though driving is a privilege, it doesn’t mean you relinquish all idea of your Due Process rights just because a cop says you erred on the road. Trust me -- in these times (post George Bush Patriot Act), you can’t afford not to have a copy of this book at hand. Also recommended for all libraries as general reference text.

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