These are a few of the particularly interesting resources we encountered doing our research for this issue.
CHOICES IN HEALING
Michael Lerner
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1994.
Although primarily written for people with cancer and the professionals working with them, this book is also valuable for anyone wanting to learn about what Lerner calls complementary therapies. He has done the difficult research needed to analyze the risks and benefits of a wide range of cancer therapies. It is clear that spiritual, psychological, nutritional, and physical therapies can be very credible complementary approaches when applied with good judgment. Evidence supports enhanced quality of life, improved general health, and possibly extended life for many people.
Lerner’s objectivity and sharing of sources is an impeccable example of the kind of knowledge that will allow people to make intelligent, thoughtful choices for themselves.
ADVANCES
Published by Fetzer Institute
Subscriptions Dept AVN, P O Box 3000
Denville, NJ 07834 800/875-2997 $39/yr.
A quarterly journal of scientific research in the field of mind/body health.
PLANETARY OVERLOAD
A. J. McMichael
Cambridge University Press, 1993.
McMichael examines the health of the human population within an ecological framework. He discusses obvious health hazards such as the risks of skin cancer and cataracts from ozone destruction, but he also delves into the more insidious indirect health consequences of things like climate change on food production and the spread of infections; likewise, immune suppression by UV radiation, erosion of overworked soils and rapid urban growth.
EMERGING VIRUSES
Stephen S. Morse, ed.
Oxford University Press, NY. 1993
AIDS and influenza typify an especially alarming reality: the emergence of "new" diseases, often manifesting explosively as epidemics. This book is for the scientifically literate general reader and the specialist. Often crossing disciplinary lines it systematically explores what is known about the reasons for viral emergence.
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
John J. Macdonald
Kumarian Press, West Hartford, CT, 1993
The Primary Health Care model, well known in Third World countries, provides access to community-based health care through participation, collaboration, and equity. It is a empowering option to the "top-down" method of care in industrialized countries.
WELLNESS INVENTORY
John W. Travis and Regina Ryan
Wellness Associates Publications, Box 5433-P, Mill Valley, CA 94942. $1.95 each.
A comprehensive inventory for individuals interested in assessing their own total well-being. Used alone, or in conjunction with the Wellness Workbook ($11.95), it provides a blueprint for achieving real health.
– Gay-wynn Cooper
