Month: July 2014

Editor: Eelco F.M. Wijdicks, MD Publisher: Oxford University Press – 784 pages Book Review by: Bina Odhar This is one of the very few lengthy medical books available on the subject of coma, especially on the comatose patient. I am not sure of the reason for this rarity; perhaps this subspecialty of neurology is not a very popular one in medical schools because of the complexity of understanding the state of coma. While the word coma is related to a Greek word meaning deep sleep, that is not what it is, explains Dr. Wijdicks in his Preface. Most of...

Editors: Douglas P. Zipes, MD, and Jose Jalife, MD Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 1365 pages, 742 illustrations Book Review by: Nano Khilnani This book is a compendium of the latest research and established knowledge in the subspecialty of cardiac electrophysiology. The editors use a multidisciplinary approach to present to you a wide range of information, the underlying basic science, to the most recent drugs, techniques, and technologies. Among the disciplines the 268 authors of chapters in this book are specialists in, are: biophysics, cardiothoracic surgery, cell biology, electrophysiology, integrative physiology, molecular biology, pathology, pediatrics, and pharmacology. The physicians and...

Author: Lambert Deckers Publisher: Pearson – www.pearsonhighered.com – 442 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram On a basic level, motivation as defined by the author of this book as that which moves one to action, or more precisely, that which moves someone to cognition, feeling, and action. It refers to the “why” of behavior, not the “how,” and it is the reason we feel and are moved by some events and not others. Human beings are moved to action by different types of factors, the main ones being biological, psychological, and environmental, as the title of this book indicates....

Authors: Matthew H. Olson and B.R. Hergenhahn Publisher: Pearson – www.pearsonhighered.com – 463 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram You will probably remember names like B.F. Skinner, Gestalt, and Pavlov from your college Psych 101 courses. This book goes over their theories on learning, and presents others – mainly about a dozen of them together – in the same company. What will you find in the ninth edition of this widely-used book on the various theories of learning? You will find much, but we give you here an overview by naming its seven Parts with 16 chapters: Introduction to...

Authors:  Garry Martin and Joseph Pear Publisher: Pearson – www.pearsonhighered.com – 365 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram This book is about the roles that cognitive / behavior therapy and applied behavior analysis play in modifying behavior. It is also about the ways all of us influence others’ behavior. The authors point out that this book has been written for both undergraduate college students as well as those pursuing graduate-level studies on behavior modification. And outside of academia, the material can be well understood by the general reader. And there is enough to interest the serious scholar as well,...