Australian psychiatrist Raphael, author of the Anatomy of Bereavement ( LJ 9/15/83), draws from her own scholarly studies and from others' to describe human response to catastrophe (e.g., fires, floods, concentration camps, air disasters). She discusses such subjects as post-traumatic stress disorder, the victim-helper relationship, adaptive coping strategies, and the treatment of survivor and bereavement syndromes. Though the examples are current (Bhopal, the 1985 Mexican earthquake, AIDS), the general reader may be discouraged not only by the redundancy, jargon, and flowcharts but also by the scarcity of personal anecdotes. However, mental health professionals, lawyers, social workers, and public officials need this comprehensive and compassionate volume. Janice Arenofsky, formerly with Arizona State Lib., Phoenix (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
CHOICE Review
In a carefully written and easily readable style, a psychiatrist shows readers how individuals and groups react to catastrophic disasters (e.g., earthquake, tidal wave, plane crash, flood, and the like). In this well-referenced book, Raphael (University of Newcastle) begins by laying a framework that heavily shapes the remainder of the book and the flow of its content. The framework presents dimensions of disasters that include time phases, spatial conditions, and social roles as well as types of disasters (like disease, natural and man-made). The book is organized into two major sections, namely, the experience of disaster and caring for the victims. The chapters that follow develop these themes through topics such as anticipation, impact, and immediate aftermath; death, survival, loss, and grief; dislocation and relocation; impact on the young, the old, and the family; mental health and adjustment; victims and helpers; psychosocial care; community and political dynamics; and the integration of catastrophe in the human system. The book provides interesting reading for general readers and can be used at the undergraduate and graduate level. More than 400 bibliographic references are an information gold mine for disaster researchers.-E. Palola, SUNY Empire State College
When disaster strikes
APA
Raphael B., . (1986). When disaster strikes: how individuals and communities cope with catastrophe. New York: Basic Books.
Chicago
Raphael Beverley, . 1986. When disaster strikes: how individuals and communities cope with catastrophe. New York: Basic Books.
Harvard
Raphael B., . (1986). When disaster strikes: how individuals and communities cope with catastrophe. New York: Basic Books.
MLA
Raphael Beverley, . When disaster strikes: how individuals and communities cope with catastrophe. New York: Basic Books. 1986.
