I guess you must have heard of James Joyce's famously impossible novel, Ulysses, or you wouldn't be reading this. You may have had a go at the book but soon given up; probably in the third 'episode', which is quite challenging. You may have bought a guide to Ulysses and found that was quite hard to understand too! I have been reading and studying Ulysses on and off since I first discovered it in my parents' bookcase at the age of 12. Later on, I looked at some of the guides to the book and...

Alvin Green has ‘accidentally’ committed a violent crime and is on the run. The police are after him and so is his victim, bent on revenge. He decides to flee on a train travelling to Scotland. But the 9.35 to from King’s Cross to Edinburgh is no ordinary train; as Alvin soon discovers, it is populated by glamorous young women from films by Alfred Hitchcock who want to draw him into their own plots. In case he needs legal advice there is also a barrister in attendance.Can this be a...

You (Desmond) are woken in your hotel room by the bedside phone ringing at 2 a.m. A damsel in distress is calling you from the room immediately above. She begs you to come and rescue her at once as two men are about to attack her.The damsel, who is young, blonde and beautiful, explains that she is an MI5 agent and her assailants (who are identical twins) are employees of a foreign power in search of a mysterious brief case, known as 'The McGonagall.'You suddenly find yourself in dangerous ...

This collection that was first published in 2009, and is recommended reading for doctors and others includes: The Green Bookshop opens its doors; Books that won prizes; Great books that should have won prizes; Two books by one writer; A handful of classic novels; Short stories and essays; Books and the cinema; Biography and memoirs; Classic books about general practice; Best new books about general practice; Consultation and communication; Education for primary care; Psychiatry, psychology...

‘Medicine and Literature’ is the doctor's guide to the classics. How can a doctor best understand the emotions and behaviour of his or her patients? An effective and deeply satisfying route is through an appreciation of literature, and the profound understanding its authors have of the human predicament. In this extraordinary and enlightening volume, general practitioner John Salinsky guides the reader through some of the world's finest works. In each chapter he describes a classic novel, ...

Guidelines are powerful instruments of assistance to clinicians capable of extending the clinical roles of nurses and pharmacists. Purchasers and managers perceive them as technological tools guaranteeing treatment quality. Guidelines also offer mechanisms by which doctors and other health care professionals can be made more accountable to their patients. But how can clinicians tell whether a guideline has authority and whether or not it should be followed? Does the law protect doctors who...

‘When I want to know the real rock-bottom truth about what happens all the time in this doctoring life, what happens to us, and to the folks who bring us their hearts and worries to be heard, that’s when I turn, every time, to the novelists, the playwrights, the poets, the essayists, who have given us the sights and sounds, the feel, of all that goes on, minute by minute. What Tolstoy and Chekhov knew, we need to know for ourselves, for our own sakes, as we live out our medical lives.’ Wil...

Do your relationships tend to follow the same destructive pattern? Do you feel trapped by your family's expectations of you? Does your life seem overwhelmingly governed by jealousy or competitiveness or lack of confidence? In this ground-breaking book, clinical psychologist Oliver James shows that it is the way we were cared for in the first six years of life that has a crucial effect on who we are and how we behave. Nurture, in effect, shapes our very nature. James combines the latest sci...

COPING WITH GRIEF is the go-to book on the grieving process. It is a classic range title that has been in print since 1985. The new edition updates information and offers a fresh design, without losing the visual link with previous editions.this best-selling book offers sensitive and practical advice on how to deal with the grieving process, from coping with the funeral to managing anniversaries and special dates. Suitable for both the bereaved and their support team, it explains wh...

Dorothy Rowe shows us how to have the courage to acknowledge and face our fears – only through courage can we find a sustaining happiness.‘Beyond Fear’, first published in 1987, has changed the lives of thousands of people. In this edition, the renowned psychologist Dorothy Rowe examines the changes in the psychiatric system since 1987 in the context of showing how most of our suffering comes from our greatest fear, that of being annihilated as a person, when we shall disappear lik...

Gordon Parker AO, one of Australia's foremost clinical psychiatrists, is known for having strong and provocative views. He's been described as 'charming, witty and erudite', sometimes 'intimidating and intolerant', and 'variously regarded with fear, loathing, admiration and respect'.In this autobiography, the founder of the Black Dog Institute and Scientia Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales recounts early formative experiences that eventually led to a care...

A riveting exploration of who we are and why we behave the way we do.Why do we become aggressive? How does the brain allow us to see, hear, and feel? Can listening to Mozart improve IQ? How do babies learn to perceive and think? How can we reduce obesity and cigarette smoking? Is being physically attractive an advantage? Psychology, the scientific study of the mind and our behaviour, has never been more popular. From TV experts to the amateur musings of your best f...