Most clinical neuropsychologists find themselves, at one time or another, foraging through their collection of folders, boxes, and texts to locate reliability, validity, and normative data for some of the more commonly used neuropsychological tests in an elderly population. In their forward, Tuokko and Hadjistavropoulos indicate that this book is designed to compile the range of normative data on the more commonly used neuropsychological tests into one source that can be easily accessed and integrated by the clinician. In addition to presentation of normative data relating to the geriatric population, a critique of each instrument's standardization and normative data is presented as well. While not all-inclusive of measures used by the typical neuropsychologist, it does cover the majority of tasks for which good normative data on the elderly exist.

Increasing survival rates after traumatic brain injury have spawned a proliferation of rehabilitation facilities and treatment programs during the past decade. The proliferation has created a diversity of challenging opportunities for neuropsychologists desiring to meet the full range of patients' needs. For many years, neuropsychology focused on diagnosis of neurological conditions, localization of impairment, and describing performance levels on tests measuring abilities. More recently neuropsychologists have been asked to participate as full members of rehabilitation teams and serve as consultants during the rehabilitation process. Now, on a more routine basis, psychologists are asked to provide family support and education, individual psychotherapy, social skills training, cognitive rehabilitation therapy, and vocational rehabilitation services.

This collection of generally well written reviews is sure to elicit a variety of reactions from readers interested in the field of clinical neuropsychology. Many, particularly those new to neuropsychology will likely appreciate this well organized and clearly written compilation of chapters edited by Gerald Goldstein and Theresa M. Incagnoli. The 12 chapters written by some of clinical neuropsychology's plenipotentiaries cover the main assessment systems currently employed in the United States. There are also chapters concerned with the evaluation of such special populations as severely demented older adults and children. In addition there are introductory chapters covering longstanding debates that still occupy some quarters of the neuropsychological community. To this group of readers Contemporary Approaches to Neuropsychological Assessment will serve as an intellectual “county fair” where experts have proudly displayed the best of their “wares”: the test systems and ideas with which they have long been associated. However, there will also be readers who will find this compilation disconcerting. From the perspective of many clinicians who are more familiar with the field, including those who must make a living in the real world of managed care and the increasing disillusionment of traditional medical allies of clinical neuropsychology (e.g., behavioral neurology, the court system, etc.), this volume will appear overly optimistic and in some cases anachronistic.

This book is monumental in every sense of the word. Before he had the opportunity to complete and publish his project, the final stages of which had occupied him for the past decade, Pierre Gloor suffered a stroke in 1994 that rendered him aphasic. In what was undoubtedly a magnificent act of tribute, an editorial committee of his colleagues prepared the vast manuscript for publication.

This optimistic book about recovery of function after brain injury or disease is written by three neuroscientists specifically to counter the belief that brain injury is permanent and that the brain cannot be repaired. They point out that this belief leads to often inappropriate or no treatment, which then makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy. However there is an increasingly extensive body of evidence from laboratories around the world that given the right conditions and specific chemicals, for example, normal function can be restored. This literature is highly specialized, highly technical, and often apparently unrelated to human recovery. It is also produced at a prodigious rate. According to a 1989 survey, fact-based knowledge doubled every 18 months at that time, and it was predicted that by the year 2010 it will double every 4 weeks. It is not surprising, therefore, that members of a health-professional team have difficulty keeping up with the clinical rehabilitation literature, and that they do not have the time or the energy to read studies on laboratory animals or tissue studies which are not seen as high priority or of relevance to their work.