64
Book Reviews
Tl~is book enabled me to benefit from others" work including the 15 pages of bibliography. I read to page 132 without stopping and found m~.~:h,::ffvalue. Ti~ere were chapters on the young, older and "special" children; then chaplers on ~he ,f~,/~l spectrum of grievers and then chapters taking us lhrough the illness from the beginning le,,fd:~e post death period. It is liberally supplied with quotations from both parents and children. Or, :page ! 32 began an eight-page "'Outline for taking Patient and Family History"; hopefully the Ame~'ican Nurse would havetime left for listening after asking so many detailed questions. The American way of life surfaced every now and then, e.g., the'suggestion that the local community should sup¢,ota the family by orgaTaizing blood donors and having fund raising drives. The advantage of this comparatively shor~ boc)k is its ease of reading on the eye and mind and because of this should find its way on to the Sl~!es of any individual or paedialric unit that deals with this not-so-rare problem. JE SPONTANEOUS PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD FROM BIRTH TO SIX ¥'EARS. By Mary" D. Sheridan. Pp. 87. N.F.E.R. Publishing Company. 1978. £5.00. This paperback, consisting of 87 pages, deals with lhe main varieties of spontaneous play which children, whether normal or handicapped, engage in during their firs~ 6-7 years. The book is very generously illustrated; to the extent that the illustrations (201 in total) almost exceed the text. Dr Sheridan commences by defining play and then proceeds to describe the spontaneous play o f children in everyday situations (not in structured situations) that might be expected at different ages. This is emphasized and clarified by the numerous illustrations. In addition the book describes how c/~ildren of various ages play with certain articles e g a cup or a bell. Finally it deals with the play o f iaandicapped children and briefly toudaes upon children in hospital. In his foreword Professor Jack Tizard suggests that this book would be relevant to students o f child psychology as well as to practitioners; Whether they be parents, teachers, nurses or doctors. As a paren~ myself I found it interesting to read but with limited practical application. Thus I did not feel that ! had learnt much to assist a child in his development. On the other hand it is o f interest to a parent to know what a child should be doing at each stage of development, as long as that parent bears in mind that children vary in the age at which they achieve certain goals and hence does not worry unnecessarily in case the child is under achieving. Furthermore, as Dr Sheridan points out, a gap exists in the medical literature concerning the spontaneous play o f children of between I-3 years. This book clearly fills this gap and hence may vv~ell be of interest to child psychologists and paediatricianso ERH •A'rlONAL HEALTHSERVICE--THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS, By Brian Abel Smith. Pp. 65. H.M.S.O.. London. £1.95. This little booklet is a clearly written and eminently readable factual de~,cription of lhe development ,of the British National Health Service from 1948 to 1978. It starts with a brief account o f the situation in the U.K. immediately prior to the passing o f the NHS Acl in 1946. On the whole It is an accurate :and lucid .description, through the need to generalize nec~-ssarity involves failing to describe some aspects fairly. The second chapter describing the events of the first 12 years of the service, is tollowcd by an account of the development o f the service fiom 1960 to 1974, a chapter on reorganization a'nd an account o f the years 1974-8, It is .basically a politically orientated description, evading technical and .moral issues, and making no attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the service. As a concise account of the relevant political issues this is an excellent little booklet. While i't is too superficial and simple ,to be of value lo community physicians it could be of real value .as an introduction to the service for foreign graduates or visitors. It is an unconlroversial "establishment" view which makes no pretence of offering more than a b~ief and readable potilical history--a limited objective which it achieves with distinction. JSR