Book Reviews
A look at a few noteworthy publications by UMDNJ faculty and alumni

Epidemiologist and historian Patrice Bourdelais analyzes the history of epidemics in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. He looks at the devastation caused by the Black Death, the Great Plague, cholera, influenza, tuberculosis and, in more recent years, AIDS, how people responded to these crises and how societies picked up the pieces afterwards.

Bourdelais examines why northern European countries have been successful in controlling infectious diseases, linking their achievements to economic development, improvements in public health and investment in medical research, and explores the repercussions of public health policies that have been put in place over the years to keep infectious diseases in check. The book explores important questions about current public health policies to curb epidemics.

About the author and the translator: Dr. Bourdelais is a professor in the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Dr. Holland is an associate professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and is an associate professor of Quantitative Methods at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health.

Pharmacology DeMystified: A Self-Teaching Guide
Mary Kamienski, PhD, RN, FAEN, FNP, CEN and Jim Keogh, MBA
McGraw-Hill: New York (2006)

Many students in the healthcare field are required to pass a course in pharmacology to graduate and become licensed. This self-teaching guide for non-pharmacology majors provides a step-by-step approach to master this demanding subject.

Pharmacology Demystified presents: the fundamentals, including definitions, standards, drug actions and interactions, prescription and medical abbreviations; how drugs are selected to treat diseases affecting different organ systems; preparation and administration of all types of drugs; identification of patients’ reactions to drugs; how to store drugs; and how to teach patients to use their medications safely and effectively. Summations of key points, quizzes at each chapter’s end and a “final exam” reinforce learning the material.

About the authors: Dr. Mary Kamienski is the director of the Center for Lifelong Learning at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing. Jim Keogh is on the faculty of St. Peter’s College and Columbia University.

Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays for Prison Privatizations?
by Byron E. Price, MBA, MPA, PhD
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

The author looks at the privatization of jails and prisons in the U.S. since the 1980s. He discusses the steady growth of private, for-profit operations of federal, state and county correctional facilities, as well as private involvement in the financing and construction of new prisons and the renovation of existing ones.

Price points out that many of these private companies have gone public and are trading on the stock exchange; and claims that privatization of prisons is being sold to the public as a cost-saving measure. He says this has generated widespread concern that incarceration has become a profit-making industry.

The author examines the financial and political reasons why a state might choose to privatize its prisons. He concludes that political bias, not the desire to cut costs, often drives these policy choices.

About the author: Dr. Price is an assistant professor at UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Department of Urban Health Administration, Piscataway, and at Rutgers University, Newark. He is also associate director of the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers.

Tobacco Control in the Workplace
by Omowunmi Y. Osinubi, MD, MSc, FRCA, Elizabeth M. Barbeau, ScD, MPH, Jill M. Williams, MD, and Glorian Sorensen, PhD, MPH
Nova Science Publishers

The authors discuss the adverse effects of smoking and tobacco products on the workplace, among them an increase in employees’ healthcare costs and disability from tobacco-caused illnesses, greater absenteeism, reductions in job performance and increased risk of injury. They contend that smoking is particularly harmful to persons in blue-collar jobs who may also be exposed to workplace toxins and to those in the hospitality industry, who are not adequately protected by smoke-free workplace policies.

They also look at recent advances that may help reduce job-based tobacco harm, including an intervention model that integrates smoking cessation and occupational health and safety. Also discussed is a national effort to link labor unions and tobacco control organizations around their interest of reducing tobacco’s threat to workers.

About the authors: Dr. Osinubi is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at UMDNJ-School of Public Health (SPH). Dr. Williams is an assistant professor of psychiatry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and SPH's Tobacco Dependence Program. Dr. Barbeau is from Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Sorensen is from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Cancer Medicine 7
by Donald W. Kufe, MD; Robert C. Bast, Jr., MD; William N. Hait, MD, PhD; Waun Ki Hong, MD; Raphael E. Pollock, MD, PhD; Ralph R. Weichselbaum, MD; James F. Holland, MD, ScD; and Emil Frei, III, MD
American Association for Cancer Research

Cancer Medicine 7 is the seventh edition of a classic oncology reference for medical, radiation and surgical oncologists, and internists. In this completely updated and revised work, the editorial team presents the newest findings in biology, immunology, etiology, epidemiology, prevention, screening, pathology, imaging and therapy, and explores the molecular basis of oncology more deeply. The text features more than 450 four-color illustrations and 140 color photographs.

For those who purchase Cancer Medicine 7, there is password access to its online edition, which includes the full text and regular updates of the latest scientific information, as well as downloadable images from the text.

About the editors: Dr. Hait is professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, and associate dean for Oncology Programs at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey; Drs. Kufe and Frei are from Harvard Medical School; Drs. Hong, Pollock and Bast are from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Dr. Weichselbaum is from the University of Chicago Hospitals; and Dr. Holland is from Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York.

Pharmacology for Physical Therapists
by Barbara Gladson, PT, PhD, OTR
Saunders Publishing

This well-organized and clearly written textbook, designed for physical therapists (PT) and PT students, discusses the relationship between drugs and physical therapy. It covers: basic pharmacological principles; the mechanism of action and side effects of drugs commonly used in physical therapy practices; how medication and exercise affect patients with cardiopulmonary illness, cancer and diabetes; cutting-edge research; how to recognize the side effects of drugs and what to do if they occur in a physical therapy practice; and working with pediatric and geriatric patients. Activities and case studies are included to help students grasp the material.

About the author: Dr. Gladson is an associate professor in the Graduate Program in Physical Therapy at UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions (SHRP), and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Hand Therapy. Other UMDNJ contributors are: Mary Jane Myslinski, PT, EdD, and Sue Ann Sisto, PT, MA, PhD, both from SHRP.

To submit a book for review, contact Carole Walker at 973-972-3489.