Psychosomatics 46:499-500, October 2005
doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.46.5.499
© 2005 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Insomnia: Principles and Management
Edited by Martin P. Szuba, Jacqueline D. Kloss, and David F. Dinges, Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press, 2003, 306 pages, $55.00, ISBN 0-521-01076-4
Angel S. Angelov, M.D.
If you are not convinced by statistics, taking this book for reading material on any kind of public transportation will certainly make you a believer in insomnia’s high prevalence. What started as an eagerness to read this book by Dr. Szuba and colleagues on my commute home soon became a method of research on its own: how many sympathetic looks will I get; what number of people will inquire about the book’s contents, cued in only by its title and tasteful, if alerting, black, red, and orange cover? The unofficial polls consistently showed strong interest. And for good reason, too. The concise and promising title delivers excellent content, organized into five parts and a total of 14 chapters with an abundance of reference material, clinical case reports, and useful appendixes.
The simplest rating scale used for any printed material, by and large, has one basic component—readability. And this book scores very high on it. However, before general readers get excited about demystifying the curse on human sleep on their own, a few words of caution: medical language requirements differ from chapter to chapter. If you are interested in sleep problems and related behavior therapies; have always wondered about the role of melatonin in our body; have a clinical practice in psychiatry, neurology, sleep, family, or any kind of medicine; do not develop a mental block when faced with molecular labeling of receptors and proteins; and enjoy classifications and research data, this is the right book for you. As for the more fortunate people who do not meet all of these criteria, Insomnia: Principles and Management can still provide a very comprehensive and pleasurable guide in revealing the intricacies of this highly prevalent disorder.
A good book provides answers, and a better one presents us with questions. The editors have truly satisfied the requirements for a very good book. The four parts characterize and describe insomnia and its treatments, introduce special topics, such as circadian rhythm disturbances and work with the elderly, children, and adolescents, and present us with neuroanatomical mechanisms of the disease. In the fifth and final part, Dr. Dinges introduces us to the research recommendations for advancing understanding and treatment of insomnia that make this book so remarkable. It gives a summary of all of the answers we have to date and an outline of the questions that will further our insight into the problem. The whole book recruits us to continue the challenging work it has presented us with, thus creating quite inspirational reading.
I would highly recommend Insomnia: Principles and Management to the general, inpatient, and consultation/liaison psychiatrist. Despite my bias, originating from my professional interest and background in sleep disorders, I found it to be a very useful tool for my predominantly hospital-based practice.
The different authors’ presentation styles create a refreshing heterogeneity that could serve different readers’ interests. The editing trio of Drs. Szuba, Kloss, and Dinges has skillfully managed to keep the content uniformly relevant to the goal of fully understanding and treating insomnia.
|
FOOTNOTES
|
Dr. Angelov is an attending in the inpatient and consultation-liaison services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.
Get information about faster international access.
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2005
Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine.
All rights reserved.
Home
| Search
| Current Issue
| Past Issues
| Subscribe
| All APPI Journals
| Help
| Contact Us
|
