PT's Bookshelf

PT introduces Culture Quotient (CQ), a review of the season's most
psychologically astute, or obtuse, books, films, television programs and
more. This is what is on our bookshelf.
Learning

Neural Plasticity

Harvard University Press, $49.95

People typically think of the brain as a genetically fixed source
of intelligence, aptitudes and personality. But increasingly, research
has shown that the brain itself is molded by experience. Brain structures
that are not used for one function are either put to work to meet other
demands, or they atrophy and lie dormant. The part of the brain required
for learning to read, for example, becomes incapable of processing
written words in the illiterate adult. Peter Huttenlocher, M.D.,
professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Chicago,
provides an illuminating review of recent developments in neural
plasticity for those interested in how experience shapes the
brain.

Flat Earth? Round Earth?

Prometheus Books, $12

While middle schooler Stan maintains that the earth is flat, his
classmate Nathan tries to convince him it's a sphere. Nathan offers
various arguments-the sun rises at different times at different
longitudes; ships appear to sink as they reach the horizon-but Stan has
an answer for everything. He doesn't budge, and Nathan learns a valuable
lesson about scientific method: You may not be able to eliminate all
doubt, but you can show that some answers fit the facts more elegantly
than others. Writer and illustrator Theresa Martin provides a valuable
lesson in scientific reasoning in this entertaining children's
book.

Pathology

The Short And Tall Of It: The Marvel Of Our Existence Is
Incredible

Word Wright International, $14.95

Donna Lancaster was born without her lower legs or knees, and as an
adult reached a height of only 3 feet 10 inches. Yet with the help of
supportive parents, she learned to walk, ride a bike, drive a car and fly
an airplane. She also graduated from college, held a variety of jobs and
married. As an adult, she used artificial legs that made her 5 feet 8
inches, but after 32 years of being tall, she decided to accept "what
is." After reading this inspiring autobiography, most readers will come
to think Lancaster is really 10 feet tall.

Fire Of The Five Hearts: A Memoir Of Treating
Incest

Brunner-Routledge, $17.95

Holly Smith, M.Ed., has given us an intensely personal account of
her life as a social worker who specializes in incest, which she
describes as “the gravest and most destructive atrocity to be
thrust on a child.” She leads us through her workday and describes
the pain felt by the children and their loved ones. She also shows the
difficulty in determining where guilt lies and what course of action is
in the child's best interest. A disturbing virtual tour through the
gutters of human experience, it may also comfort victims and their
families and will provide budding social workers with a perspective they
will not get from a textbook.

Awakening Of A Jehovah's Witness: Escape From The Watch Tower
Society

Prometheus Books, $28

Who are those polite, well-scrubbed Jehovah's Witnesses who appear
at our doors to hand out leaflets and offer to discuss the Bible? Diane
Wilson, made vulnerable by a childhood of psychological abuse, succumbed
to the group's charms and remained a member for 25 years. Wilson
describes the indoctrination process, the hypocrisy and the gradual
suppression of individuality. Much of what she describes might be said of
any cult, and members of mainstream religions may come to see the dangers
of fanaticism in their own faiths.

Parenting

Parenting A Struggling Reader

Broadway Books, $14

One of the most widely accepted myths in education is that learning
to read is a natural process-like learning to walk-and occurs with little
or no formal instruction. But according to Susan Hall (the mother of a
dyslexic child) and Louisa Moats, Ed.D., both board members of the
International Dyslexia Association, research tells another story: The
majority of kids need explicit instruction in reading skills. The
disconnect between myth and reality has resulted in an epidemic of poor
readers. This book will help parents determine why children struggle and
how to help.

Boyz Are Boys (And Girls Are Girls)

DoubleDogg Publishing, $24.95

Written by Ron Bryan, a scriptwriter and single parent of two boys,
this "operations manual for boys and their parents" is based on personal
experience. The book includes some comments of dubious veracity ("Boys
are logic driven") and others that are politically incorrect ("Men and
boys need to be strong.... Sensitivity...is best left to girls and
women"). Yet despite these problems, some boys might benefit from reading
this gritty, down-to-earth book.

Culture

Meditations For The Humanist: Ethics For A Secular
Age

Oxford University Press, $25

A.C. Grayling, D.Phil., a fellow at St. Anne's College in Oxford,
England, has given us a book of contemplations. A distinctive voice that
falls somewhere between Mark Twain and Michel de Montaigne, Grayling
offers short analyses on a wide range of topics related to the human
condition. The search for happiness, he reminds us, "is one of the main
sources of unhappiness." Of death, he writes, "Hopes for an afterlife
are, in fact, a sad reflection on, and a condemnation of, the facts of
this life." Though perhaps not always agreeable, Grayling's comments are
always stimulating. Give this book to the more thoughtful heads on your
Christmas list-but read it yourself, first.

The Rise Of The Creative Class And How It's Transforming
Work, Leisure, Community And Everyday Life

Basic Books, $26

The most influential workers of this millennium will also be
"creative workers," argues Richard Florida, Ph.D., professor of regional
economic development at Carnegie Mellon University. He defines creative
workers as those "whose function is to create new ideas, new technology
and/or new creative content." They include scientists, educators and
artists, among others, and their existence has more than doubled since
1980. Already 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, the creative class will
change our economy, values, lifestyles, education and geography, Florida
says. If true, its rise will also be a major phenomenon in American
society in this century.