An ambitious and confoundingly uneven exploration of psychobiological interdependence. Dubovsky (Psychiatry and Medicine/Univ. of Colorado Medical School) is onto something—but not the rhetorically loaded ``deceptions'' of the title, into which frame the text is force-fit at some cost to clarity and credibility. The business of the book is examining mind-body connections and their implications for health and health care by explaining psychodynamic and biochemical actions and interactions and exposing prevailing misconceptions and their ramifications. It opens with padded conventional wisdom asserting the overlap of mental and physical processes, then usefully introduces the phenomena of somatization and psychosomatic illness as physiological expressions of emotional pain. In the gray area of depression, all ambiguities are veiled by a confident schematic rendering of the intimate correlation between mind and body systems at the level of the synapse: If maladaptive emotional behavior becomes automatic after repeated episodes of stress (a process known as ``kindling''), healthy brain circuits atrophy. That elucidation of brain biochemistry, like the descriptions of the workings of the cardiovascular and immunological systems in the later section on heart disease and cancer, presupposes a degree of scientific literacy discontinuous with the popular tenor and thrust of the psychological models and the casual assimilation of supportive research; the result is at once overtechnical and oversimplifying. Dubovsky writes sentiently, however, about psychosocial resources for medical patients, and saliently about how the managed-care industry both reflects and perpetuates the traditional mind-body dichotomy. At his judicious best—respecting the multiplicity of psychobiological events and responses, or cautioning against the very cognitive leaps he seems subtly prone to make—he does contribute to the substance and dimension of a fascinating discussion. For the shelf well-stocked with other perspectives.
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-393-02943-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1997
The CBS anchorman tells of his globe-trotting moments—good yarns, though they're not exactly representative of his usual daily work behind a desk. As in their previous book (The Camera Never Blinks, 1977), Rather and Herskowitz, in colloquial and sometimes glib style, tell how he got that story. Venturing into Afghanistan just after the Soviet invasion in 1980, Rather and his colleagues braved fearsome chiefs, questionable food (when in doubt, eat only the inside of bread, he recommends), and a firefight to bring home an important story. In China for the 1989 student revolt, the newsman and his team finessed on-site government officials to gain enough time to transmit their video back home before their news operation was shut down. After the Berlin Wall fell, he headed directly for soon-to- topple Prague on the prescient advice of Vernon Walters, ambassador to West Germany. And shortly before Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, he garnered a frank interview with Jordan's King Hussein that, with the help of producer Don Hewitt, was quickly broadcast on 60 Minutes. Rather intercuts his chapters with brief, often folksy ``outtakes'' and isn't above laughing at himself, as when reflecting on his youthful bravado and latter-day caution in covering hurricanes. He offers a credible account of the notorious 1987 episode in which the ``CBS Evening News'' ``went black'' for six minutes (when the preceding broadcast of a tennis game finished earlier than expected), as well as an unedited transcript of the subsequent interview with Vice President (and presidential candidate) George Bush, who dodged questions about his Iran-contra involvement by nastily chiding Rather about the gap. The book closes by recounting a much-publicized 1993 speech in which Rather upbraided TV news colleagues for not pursuing quality. But his book lacks sustained reflection on how to do that—or for that matter, any mention of the struggles of Rather's nightly newscast, now third in the ratings. Enjoyable anecdotes, not much insight or history. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-09748-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
Elvis's infamous fondness for down-home southern cooking (breakfasts of sausage, bacon, and eggs; lunches of mashed potatoes with gravy, sauerkraut, bacon, and biscuits; dinners of fried chicken; fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches for snacks) makes this less a cookbook than a campy tribute to white-trash cuisine and a ``memory book'' (as freelance writer McKeon likes to call it) of the King's days in Hollywood. The author intersperses snippets of information about the Love Me Tender premier, photos of Elvis surrounded by adoring fans, his coffee preferences (very hot with cream and sugar), his constant need to be surrounded by friends, his passion for Pepsi, and his romantic liaisons with various stars (Natalie Wood, Ursula Andress, etc.) with instructions for preparing some of Elvis's favorite dishes. The recipes, organized by course, are easy to follow; but who could go wrong when most have only six to eight ingredients? And is there anyone who thinks so little of cholesterol levels or Elvis's final embarrassing performance that they would serve high-fat bacon-and- cheese pastries along with celery wheels laden with cream cheese, and cheddar cheese potato chips, as one of McKeon's menus suggests? While it is possible to garner a decent, classic southern meal from this book (turnip greens, country fried steak, and corn fritters), these have been done elsewhere—and better. This kind of food led to the King's downfall. Still, a perfect gag gift.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-55853-301-X
Page Count: 238
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
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