PT Bookshelf

Presents psychology-related books. 'Voodoo Science: The Road From Foolishness to Fraud,' by Robert Park; 'Jacobson's Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell,' by Lyall Watson; 'Recovery Options: The Complete Guide,' by Joseph Volpicelli and Maia Szalavitz.

By Paul Chance, published on September 01, 2000

If you wear magnets in your shoes to draw energy from the earth or areconsidering the purchase of an infinite energy machine, you should read Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud (Oxford, 2000, $25) by University of Maryland physicist Robert Park, Ph.D. Park gets to the essence of true scientific thinking without mathematical formulas, then uses real-life examples to show how people (including scientists) are led astray by pseudoscience.

Sometimes, life stinks. The ability to smell it, however, helps you tell safe from spoiled, male from female, and friend from foe, yet chances are you pay little attention to this key sensation. Jacobson's Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell (Norton, 2000, $24.95), written by naturalist and science writer Lyall Watson, will entertain you as it explains the importance of what the nose knows.

If you or a loved one abuses drugs, get a copy of Recovery Options: The Complete Guide (Wiley, 2000, $15.95 paperback). Authors Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., Ph.D., a University of Pennsylvania researcher, and Maia Szalavitz, a journalist and former cocaine and heroin addict, explain the roles biology and experience play in addiction, and provide practical suggestions for escaping its grip.

The support of friends and family is useful in dealing with any persistent life problem, but sometimes we need the help of people who know our pain firsthand. The Support Group Sourcebook (Wiley, 2000, $14.95 paperback), written by Linda Klein, a support group facilitator, shows how to get the most out of a support group, and the book should be read by anyone trying to cope with a chronic health or behavior problem.

If you are among the 50 million Americans caring for someone with Alzheimer's, you will want to read The Last Childhood: A Family Story of Alzheimer's (Three Rivers Press, 2000, $14 paperback). Author Carrie Knowles, an award-winning journalist, tells the absorbing story of her own mother's inexorable and horrific deterioration at the hands of this debilitating disease.

Do you know someone who is "book smart", yet can't figure out how to change a light bulb? According to Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life (Cambridge University Press, 2000, $21.95 paperback), people who excel in academics often lack the kind of brains needed in other settings. Written by Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg, Ph.D., and a host of other experts, this book is intended primarily for scholars, but should prove accessible and interesting for most PT readers.

Children of divorce often find it difficult to voice their feelings. I Don't Want to Talk About It (Magination Press, 2000, $8.95 paperback) helps them do so by using animal metaphors to illustrate the emotions of a little girl whose parents are breaking up. (She wants to roar like a lion, for example, so she can't hear what her parents are saying.) Written by counselor Jeanie Franz Ransom, M.A., with illustrations by Kathryn Kunz Finney, this book is intended for children ages 4 to 10. An afterword by Philip Stahl, Ph.D., offers practical ways for parents to help kids cope.

Adapted by Ph.D.