Death and Dying

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-- This book updates the Silversteins' Headaches: All About Them (Lippincott, 1984). Kittredge covers the history of treatment for headaches; the signs, symptoms, and causes of different kinds of headaches; the economics in terms of sufferers and business; and the help that is available. Her academic approach reflects the current trend in medicine, to treat the headache as a disease rather than a symptom (which is not to say that the headache is not often a symptom of another disease). Knox begins with historical views and practices regarding death, and discusses how death is determined and the controversial issues that have arisen because of modern medical technology. Also included are the process of grieving and the rituals surrounding death. This book is more thorough than Anderson's Death (Watts, 1980; o.p.). The illustrations in each volume are dark and muddy. This series begins with a message from the Surgeon General and a preface by the general editor, and ends with a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of appropriate organizations to call for more information. Both bibliographies contain standard adult and juvenile sources. The books will be useful for reports, and those looking for self-help will also be served. --Martha Gordon, South Salem Library, NY

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Gordon describes the history of research into the biological, sociological, and environmental factors that cause stress, from Walter Bradford Cannon's "fight-or-flight" response to today's probing of the links between stress and specific illnesses. The author is optimistic that, ultimately, it will be possible to control negative stress through attitude change, relaxation techniques, and programs instituted in workplaces and schools. This title is far more demanding than John Giacobello's Everything You Need to Know about the Dangers of Overachieving (2000), which touches on the subject, and Eleanor Ayer's Everything You Need to Know about Stress (1998, both Rosen). Knox presents a social history of the rituals and meanings associated with death in various settings and circumstances. This book is also a manual on how to be useful and compassionate to those left behind. The author presents Elisabeth K bler-Ross's theories and her own ideas on how survivors heal. Topics such as suicide, the role of the physician, and the possibility of an afterlife are discussed. Reflective chapters contain poetry and literary selections. It is surprising that the author, who has written a balanced, nondenominational work, chooses to close this title with an allusion to Christian belief. This is a sophisticated book that should be useful and interesting to mature teens. Earl Grollman's Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers (Beacon, 1993) is a self-help book without the social history component. Neither of these titles is an easy read; both are substantive and worthy.-Libby K. White, Jewish Vocational Services, Baltimore, MD Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.