The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women, edited by Lauren Slater, Jessica Henderson Daniel, and Amy Banks (Beacon Press, 2003)

The old adage of never judging a book by its cover applies quite literally in the case of The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women, edited by Lauren Slater, Jessica Henderson Daniel, and Amy Banks. The book looks like a textbook but reads like a novella. Over 50 women from a myriad of races, classes, and sexual orientations contributed to this guidebook focused on women's mental health, and while it contains the expected medical terminology, it also retains a sense of personality that is normally absent in a scientific guidebook. The authors combine useful health information for the mind and body with examples from their own lives and ultimately create an accessible introduction to women's mental health.

It should be noted that this book is not meant to be the definitive guide to women's mental health, nor is it a manual for cures. Rather, it is "an attempt to understand women's lives not only by the sicknesses we sometimes suffer, but also by the life stages we all move through, in whichever way we choose to define them." The preface encourages readers to dip in and out of different sections of the book and read what applies to them. There are sections pertaining to pregnancy, domestic violence, menopause, and the different types of relationships women might encounter during their lives. These sections are no more than ten pages each and the writing is easily comprehensible for the non-science reader. To this reviewer's surprise, The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women was a joy to read and provided a wealth of information about women's mental health.

Reviewed by Lucia Cruz.

Women and Public Policy: A Revolution in Progress, 3rd edition, by M. Margaret Conway, David W. Ahern, and Gertrude A. Steuernagel (CQ Press, 2004)

Women and Public Policy: A Revolution in Progress focuses on today's pertinent policies surrounding issues that are typically considered women's issues. This book's essential strength is the historical background it provides—demonstrating not only how issues such as health care, education, and criminal justice have become key sites of women's attention, but also how women as a group have been able to affect and influence policies in these areas. The authors outline how issues such as family law, reproductive policy, and employment have been changed by the increase of women in these fields and by women participating in the political policy process.

Women and Public Policy is accessible to people from multiple disciplines and sectors. With in-depth chapters about policies on education, insurance, credit, housing, and retirement, Women and Public Policy is potentially daunting for some readers. However, the book's statistical data and rich citations offer a wealth of resources for those looking for further study. The breadth of its scope suggests that a revolution has indeed already begun as women's influence on public policy issues promises a different future for all of us.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wong.