327 BritishJournal of Clinical Psychology (2002), 41, 327 –330 2002The BritishPsychological Society www.bps.org.uk Bookreviews Health anxiety: Clinicaland research perspectives onhypochondriasis and related conditions ByGordon Asmundson, Steven Taylor &BrianCox NewYork: Wiley. 2001.Pp. 440. Paperback, $55. ISBN 0-471-49104-7. Somedegree of healthanx iety,realisticor not, isa universalexperienc eand hasvery important implicationsfor effe ctivehealth c aredelivery .For example,it is an importantde terminantin responsesto medicalre assurance,c ompliancewith treatment and decisionsto seekmedicalhe lp. Despitethis, the are ahad receivedre lativelylittle attention until the 1980s. A sthepre faceto this book points out, up to now, no singlebook hasprovided acomprehensivecoverage of issuesand developmentsin research,theory and treatment of healthanxiety .This book istherefore ve ry welcome,and itis not adisappointment. Itis we llstructured, clearly written and providesan excellentand comprehensiveove rviewof thesubjec t. The book includessome c haptersthat are largely descriptive, c overingclassification, clinic al featuresand how healthanx ietyrelates to otherconcepts and disorderssuch assomatization, hypochondrosis, anxietydisorders and personalityfactors. O therchapters look atunderstanding thepsy chologicalprocesses that may underliehealth anxiety .Thisinc ludesanexcellentc hapter by Martin,L emos, and Leventhalon thepsyc hology of symptom perception, illness representationsand illnessbehaviour and achapterby Salkovskisand Warwickon thecognitive model of healthanx iety. The book alsoinclude schapterson assessmentand psychologicaland pharmacological treatments.T he chaptersby Furer,Walker, and Freestonon cognitive –behaviouraltherapy for ‘intenseillness worries ’ describein somede taila 14-sessiontreatment programme. It will be of particularintere stto therapists,and complementsthe c hapteron thecognitive mode l.It also highlightsother issues such asfear of medicalproc edures,health anx ietyin thosewith chronic medicalc onditions or risksand fearof mentalillne ss.A nother chapterlooks atpatients who present with medicallyune xplainedsy mptoms in primarycare and considerssome cross- cultural issues.It c onsidersproblems suc hasirritablebowel syndrome, fibromyalgiaand chronicfatigue syndrome and primarycare- basedinterventionsfor he althanx iety. Iwaspleased to seea separatechapter on healthanxiety in theelderly given the impre ssion thathealth anx iety and preoccupation with symptoms aremore prevalent in old age.In fact,the authorspoint to evidencethat hy pochondriacalconce rnsare no morecommon in thee lderly than in otherage groups. T hey alsolook attheapplic ationof thecognitive model to thee lderly and assessmentand treatment issues.T he book then hasfour chapterson healthanx iety/ hypochondriasisin relatedconditions: heart-focusedanxiety;pain patients;psy choticdisorders; and deathanxiety . Iwould stronglyrecommend thisbook to researchersand cliniciansworking throughout healthcare. It has up- to-datec ontributions fromleading researc hersand clinicians,the various contributions arewell writte nand setout, and clinicalvignettes are frequently used. I tprovidesa good balancebetwe enabroad overviewof theare aand specificareas of interestand betweenthe 328 Book reviews theoreticaland thepractical. I tisno surprisethat the c ognitivemodel isthe pre dominant model throughout thebook. Thismay be seenas a limitationbut reflectsthe lack of convincing alternatives. MIKE LUCOCK (Wakefield andPontefract Community NHS Trustand Huddersfield University) Conquering anorexia: The route to recovery By Clare Lindsay Chichester, UK:Summersdale. 2000. Pp. 214. Paperback, £ 9.99.ISBN 1-84024-096-2 . Although basedon theauthor ’sexperiencesof anorexianervosa, this book isaime dtowards anyone wishingto overcomean eatingdisorde r.T hrough sharingher personal ex perienceof livingwith anorexiaand providinga detailedex planationof how sheovercame he rillness,the author aimsto offerhope and proof thatrecovery from an eatingdisorder is possible. The book isdivided into four parts.In partone ,theauthor exploresthe roots of herdifficultie s through reflectingon herchildhood experiences.She talks about someof thepersonal characteristicsand behavioursthat she belie vesinfluence dthede velopmentof heranorexia, including anegativethinking style,low self-esteemand theinte nsese nseof personal ineffectivenessshe ex perienced in herday -to-day life.The second partof thebook focuses particularlyon theauthor ’sexperiencesof seekinghelp. T heseinc lude thesupport sherec eived fromher G P, herexperienc esof psychiatry,aswell as the knowledge and understandingshe gainedfromcounselling. In partthree, she describes her e xperiencesof day patienttre atmentand providesa step-by- stepex planationof how, through learningto think and behavemore effe ctively,sherec overed fromhe ranorexia.T hisprocess is highlighted throughout by detailedexample sof thetechnique s sheused to changethe negative thought patternsand maladaptivecoping strategiesthatwe re servingto maintainher eating disorder. I nthefinal part of thebook, theauthor providesfurther detailof theself- help strategiesand exercisessheemploy edthroughout herrecovery ,including techniques to challengene gativethoughts and feelings,as we llas e xercisesaimed towards developingassertivene ssand anenhancedsenseof personaleffective ness. Although not writtenfrom a specifictheoretical perspec tive,the author ’sexperiencescanbe understood within aschema-focused cognitive –behaviouralframework. In particular,the author highlightsthe role her anorex iaplay edin helpingher deal with emotion, interpersonaldifficultie s and low self-esteem.In thelatter se ctionsof thebook, shehighlights the various cognitive techniques thatshe use dto challengeand changeher ne gativethoughts and feelings,whilst also emphasizingthe importance of addressingunderly ingmaladaptive schemas, such aspersonal ineffectiveness. Anorexiais a complicateddisorder that can be frustratingand difficultto understand.In many ways,thisbook tellsit how itis, the tex tise asyto read,and diarye ntriesgive the re aderavivid insightinto theexpe rienceof livingwith anorexia,as we llas the challenges that ac company recovery.The book containsa varietyof practicalex ercises,and assuch would be auseful complementto therapy,although,give ntherec alcitrantnature of anorexia,I wasunsure asto whetheritwould forman effectiveintervention in itsown right.H owever,through highlighting thatre covery ispossible if one iswilling to engagein theprocess of change,this book offersa realisticmessage of hope. Assuch,although primarilyaimed towards sufferers, this book would be an insightfulread for any one wishingto understand thelogic that lie sbeneathan eating disorderas we llas the c hallengesthat ac company recovery. HANNAH TURNER (ClinicalPsychologist, Specialist Eating Disorder Service, Southampton) Book reviews 329 Atribute to the workof Beate Hermelin Bright splinters ofthe mind:A personal story ofresearch with autistic savants ByBeate Hermelin. Foreword bySir Michael Rutter. London:Jessica Kingsley. 2001.Hardback, £29.95.ISBN 1-85302-931-9. Whata pleasureit is to read thestories in BeateH ermelin ’swonderful book. Storiesabout an artistwho, despitehaving ve ry littlelanguage, can produce stunningly accuratesketche sof complexarchitec ture.Storie sabout amuteman with autismwho can signalto you, in lightning speed,whe thera number isa primenumber —no matterhow bigthat number is.Storie sabout otherpe ople with autismwho cancompute fasterthan isbelievable what day of theweek any datewill fall, be ita datenear the pre sent,or farinto thedistant past or future.Stories about a person with autismwho cansimply heara difficultpiece of classicalmusic once ,and reproduceit with remarkableac curacyimmediately .And allthis in aperson who hasrec eivedno formal trainingin musicianship.Stories about aperson with autismwho canacquire vocabularies and grammarseasily and quickly,and apparentlywithout limit.A nd more. But AteH ermelin,as sheis known, ismuc hmorethan justa story-teller.T hisis a woman who, fromthe outse tof herc areer,now spanning four decades,has combined herown wonderful artisticse nsitivitywith adetective-likerigour in experimentalpsy chology.Asastudent,she studiedat the Jerusalem A rtSc hool and then trainedas a developmentalne uropsychologistto work in one of themost important units set up by theM edicalR esearchC ouncil in theU K,the DevelopmentalPsy chology Unit.Toge therwith herlong- standingcollaborator, the late P rofessor Neil O’Connor, theypioneeredthe e xperimentalinvestigation of thepsy chology of autism.H er incisiveobservation and hypothesistesting in thefield of autismhave generated important research,whic h, overmany decades,has prove nreliableand valid. Inthisdelightful book, sheprovides beautiful illustrations of theproducts of thesesavant minds, who, despiteclear e videnceof learningdisability ,canfunc tion ata superiorle velin one domain. Hermelinand O ’Connor correctlyrecognize dthatsuc hindividualsmight be ableto teachsc iencea lotabout thenature of intelligenceand talentin thege neralpopulation, even though savantsare an anomaly.Atasinglestroke, the e xistenceof such casesdisproves the notion of ‘g’,or generalinte lligence,in thesense of aperson ’sabilitybe ingwholly definedby somege nerallearning me chanismthat is domain- independent.R ather,such casesstrongly suggestthere may be somekind of modularity within thecognitive sy stem.H ermelinis as comfortablewhen