- Email: [email protected]
The psychology of death
662
BOOK REVIEWS
KASTENBAUM,ROBERT, & AISENBERG,RUTH. The Psychology of Death. New York: Springer, 1972, xi + 498 Pp. $11.95. The senior author is an acknowledged leader in this neglected field and the present volume constitutes a major contribution. The treatment of the topic is comprehensive and scholarly enough to provide more than a starting point for the serious researcher and yet sufficiently clear and pragmatic to hold the interest of the general reader. Virtually every aspect of death is systematically covered including suicide, murder, longevity, and what can be done to prevent premature death in our society. The counselor or "'helping person" will find much that is helpful here in unraveling the many scientific and less than scientific approaches to the subject of death. But, as the authors wisely caution the reader, a "'how-to-make-people-feel-good-about-death" tract this is not.
WING, LORNA. Autistic Children. A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1972, xv + 157 Pp. $6.95. This is a book which can be commended to parents seeking information about autistic youngsters. Professionals would be better served by other sources. Autistic Children combines the author's experience, awareness of the literature, common sense, and working knowledge of contingency management (although she does not employ such terms ) into a useful guide. While it is impossible to handle complex problems of self-destruction, withdrawal, etc., without skilled h e l p - - a n d even then it is difficult this book will make it easier for parents to cope with the disquieting fact of the very existence of the many and diverse problems presented by their autistic children. The author notes what can presently be done for autistic children and, more importantly, what cannot. Finally, this modest little book will equip parents with some knowledge and expectation to deploy in their long and sometimes frustrating interactions with professionals, and this itself is no mean accomplishment.
CHAENY,ISRAEL. Marital Love and Hate. New York: MacMillan, 1972. 199 Pp. $5.95. Intended primarily for the general public, the subtitle tells all: the need for a revised marriage contract and a more honest offer by the marriage counselor to teach couples to love and hate, honor and dishonor, obey and disobey. The author is coordinator of a study group on the mental health aspects of violence and how man might yet evolve to a commitment to a nonviolent way of life. His thesis is that to survive as individuals or as nations we must learn to express and channel our aggressions nonviolently and that this is especially true of the inevitable (and even desirable) conflict in marriage. Written in popular style---with nary a shred of data or documentation of a behavioral nature---this feeling- and experienceoriented little book offers some interesting suggestions for clinical research.
ZUK, GERALD H. Family Therapy: A Triadic-Based Approach. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1971, viii + 289 Pp. $12.95. The author, well known in family therapy, and related circles, is a member of the
Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. The book, whose unifying philosophy is
BOOK REVIEWS
KASTENBAUM,ROBERT, & AISENBERG,RUTH. The Psychology of Death. New York: Springer, 1972, xi + 498 Pp. $11.95. The senior author is an acknowledged leader in this neglected field and the present volume constitutes a major contribution. The treatment of the topic is comprehensive and scholarly enough to provide more than a starting point for the serious researcher and yet sufficiently clear and pragmatic to hold the interest of the general reader. Virtually every aspect of death is systematically covered including suicide, murder, longevity, and what can be done to prevent premature death in our society. The counselor or "'helping person" will find much that is helpful here in unraveling the many scientific and less than scientific approaches to the subject of death. But, as the authors wisely caution the reader, a "'how-to-make-people-feel-good-about-death" tract this is not.
WING, LORNA. Autistic Children. A Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1972, xv + 157 Pp. $6.95. This is a book which can be commended to parents seeking information about autistic youngsters. Professionals would be better served by other sources. Autistic Children combines the author's experience, awareness of the literature, common sense, and working knowledge of contingency management (although she does not employ such terms ) into a useful guide. While it is impossible to handle complex problems of self-destruction, withdrawal, etc., without skilled h e l p - - a n d even then it is difficult this book will make it easier for parents to cope with the disquieting fact of the very existence of the many and diverse problems presented by their autistic children. The author notes what can presently be done for autistic children and, more importantly, what cannot. Finally, this modest little book will equip parents with some knowledge and expectation to deploy in their long and sometimes frustrating interactions with professionals, and this itself is no mean accomplishment.
CHAENY,ISRAEL. Marital Love and Hate. New York: MacMillan, 1972. 199 Pp. $5.95. Intended primarily for the general public, the subtitle tells all: the need for a revised marriage contract and a more honest offer by the marriage counselor to teach couples to love and hate, honor and dishonor, obey and disobey. The author is coordinator of a study group on the mental health aspects of violence and how man might yet evolve to a commitment to a nonviolent way of life. His thesis is that to survive as individuals or as nations we must learn to express and channel our aggressions nonviolently and that this is especially true of the inevitable (and even desirable) conflict in marriage. Written in popular style---with nary a shred of data or documentation of a behavioral nature---this feeling- and experienceoriented little book offers some interesting suggestions for clinical research.
ZUK, GERALD H. Family Therapy: A Triadic-Based Approach. New York: Behavioral Publications, 1971, viii + 289 Pp. $12.95. The author, well known in family therapy, and related circles, is a member of the
Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. The book, whose unifying philosophy is