From Booklist
Fluently written by a medical writer and an expert in the area of addiction, the focus of this concise volume is on “the key issues of alcoholism and alcohol abuse today.” The introduction contains ample statistical tables tracking alcohol use and incidence of particular behaviors (e.g., binge drinking) by age group. The body of the volume is an alphabetical listing of topics related to alcoholism. These include the chemical processes involved in alcohol metabolism, drug interactions, the impact of alcohol on families, risk factors for alcohol abuse, treatment modalities, assessment tools, and health risks, among other topics. Entries range in length depending upon the topic. For example, an entry on Generalized anxiety disorder comes in at around a page, whereas one on Excessive drinking and health consequences is 16 pages long. Within entries, words in small caps denote a cross-reference, with see also references in small caps at the end of articles. Most entries also include bibliographies. A table of contents and a detailed, accurate index provide points of access. The book also concludes with several appendixes, including listings of national and state agencies dealing with alcohol abuse or its ancillary effects, statistical tables dealing with alcohol use and abuse, and citations to federal law on the national minimum drinking age. The writing style is easily accessible to the general reader but detailed and technical enough to be useful for students in fields such as psychiatry, psychology, and counseling. More specifically focused on alcohol abuse than The Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior (Gale, 2009), The Encyclopedia of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is recommended for collections serving the populations mentioned above. --Ann Welton
