Featured Books
Click on the photo of the book you are interested in and you will be taken directly to the blog posting for that book.

Crazy in America provides a behind the scenes look at how mental illness can destroy the lives of patients, family and friends especially when the system created to help those suffering is not working. The number of beds available for the mentally ill has dramatically decreased across the country. Because of this reduction (without a lack of a reduction in mental illness) individuals in need are often sent to prison for minor infractions. Once in prison those who are the most severely ill are unable to abide by the strict rules of the system and often wind up with extended sentences or in solitary confinement. Shayne Eggen dug both of her eyes out during separate psychotic episodes while in solitary. Other have committed suicide because they saw their prison sentence extended over and over again for the smallest violation. Others are killed in the streets for not obeying police orders because they are paranoid or frightened but not dangerous. Crazy in America speaks to the need of the United States to address this underserved population and the provide the treatment and training needed to properly care for those experiencing mental illness.

What is the key to communication? Alan Alda believes it is empathy and recognizing what the other person is thinking. He is an actor, writer, and director. Some may know him from his role on the TV show M*A*S*H and various movie appearances. Others know him within the scientific community as host of the PBS show Scientific American Frontiers and founder of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. Recently, he has also been thrust into the spotlight by sharing his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. His varied history within the fields of science and media provides him an interesting perspective when answering the question of how to enhance communication. He started with wanting to teach scientists how to communicate better, but now wants to share what he learned with you so you can become a better communicator.

Luke Dittrich spent 6 years researching the infamous story of H.M. whose sad fate made him one of the most widely known case studies in psychological history. Dittrich recounts H.M.`s personal story and contributions to the knowledge of the workings of the hippocampus and different types of short-term memory. Dittrich`s grandfather was the surgeon Dr. Scoville who conducted the highly controversial surgery which makes the story more intriguing. Further, Dittrich recounts the battle between psychologists over access to H.M. in an effort to make a name for themselves in the field. Sadly, these efforts continued after H.M. s brain was cut into over 2,000 pieces in a live stream. Lawsuits over who really owned the brain continued long after the owner had passed. H.M.s story is set against the background of a field of psychological rapidly changing from experimental surgery to more modern methods and provides an interesting historical view of psychosurgery and treatment for disorders.

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If you are interested in learning more about these books and many others, click on the Blog link at the top of the page. Each of the book review postings includes a brief explanation of the book, a related classroom activity, key psychological concepts referenced in the book, and other resources such as websites or podcasts.