The writing is confident. Delusions, we are told, are more complex thanKarl Jaspers acknowledged. They are best seen as beliefs held with varying lev-els of conviction, systematised to differing extents, which preoccupy some suf-ferers more than others. They are, in this sense, multidimensional. Theauthors argue that they exist on a continuum with normal beliefs. In particu-lar, ‘incorrigibility’, which others have described as characteristic of delusions,is no more than a reflection of the conviction with which the belief is held.The research is described clearly and the compilation of several publishedstudies, a hazardous undertaking, works well. The first study tested whetherthe conviction with which we hold beliefs, be they delusions or normal, variesover time. It does, and it varies more for delusions. The second measured vari-ous aspects of delusions, including conviction, preoccupation and absurdity. Itshowed that conviction was always high and that the other elements werepresent to a greater or lesser extent. The third study showed that people withdelusions jump to conclusions when asked to address a problem. They do thiseven when the problem bears no relationship to the delusion. In the finalstudy the use of a structured interview showed that it was possible to talk todeluded subjects about their beliefs and, in particular, to ask them why theycontinued to believe.

I was peripherally involved in one of the studies reported here but can takeno credit for this work. No one knows which avenues of research history willtreat most kindly. Perhaps we should all be looking at genes. For what it isworth, I share the authors’ view that insufficient emphasis has been placed onwhat patients say about their delusions. It is difficult to see what else can formthe basis of classification until the causes of the functional psychoses areknown. My quibble is with the logical step whereby because delusions andnormal beliefs share characteristics such as conviction, and because thesecharacteristics may be present to a greater or a lesser extent, delusions are con-tinuous with normal beliefs. Cats and dogs share certain characteristics (suchas hairiness) which may be present to a greater or lesser extent. I am not surethey could be called continuous.

Alec BuchananInstitute of CriminologyCambridge CB3 9DT, UK

SEMINARS IN ALCOHOL AND DRUG MISUSE

Edited by Jonathon Chick and Roch Cantwell. Gaskell/The Royal College ofPsychiatrists. August 1994. 246 pp. Paperback, £13.50. ISBN 0-902241-70-2.

The College Seminars series is tailored to the needs of trainee psychiatristspreparing for the MRCPsych examinations. Core skills for all psychiatristsinclude the ability to take a drug and alcohol history and to be able to recog-

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nise and manage competently the psychiatric complications of substance mis-use. These subjects are covered without embellishment in all the standard psy-chiatric texts. This book is for the trainee who also wishes to understand someof the theoretical underpinnings of these core skills. It also describes state-of-the-art psychological treatments in the field.

The other strength of this book is that it provides coverage of thorny clini-cal issues normally dealt with in journal editorials and which are not consid-ered appropriate for inclusion in a standard text. For the anxious examinationcandidate who wishes to dig for nuggets with which to impress the examinersthere is a rich seam of such material here. I particularly enjoyed the chapter byMarks in which he provides sensible guidelines for those who wish to tran-scend the moral panic surrounding the use of benzodiazepines and to restorethem to their therapeutic armamentarium. I wish that he covered the subjectsof caffeinism and nicotine addiction in similar depth. Jaded doctors who feelthat all consultations with heavy drinkers are pointless and mutually unsatis-fying will be heartened by the section on minimal interventions in alcoholmisuse which provides practical advice to enable them to make productive useof a single consultation.

These are just the snippets that appealed to me but I suspect that othersrevising for the MRCPsych examinations will find this book a useful respitefrom the drugs and alcohol chapters in the major texts. Other clinicianswhose work brings them into contact with drug and alcohol misusers couldprofit by reading it although they may find that a standard text is adequate.

This book is an excellent teaching and revision aid for psychiatric traineeswho would be wise to consider having a look at the entire series. It might beconsidered foolish for British trainees to ignore revision texts published bytheir examiners!

Joe Black BSc MBBS MPhil MRCPsychRegistrar in PsychiatryMaudsley HospitalLondon SE5 8AZ

POEMS-IN-LAW

By Fay Green. Envoi Poets Publications, Pen Ffordd, Newport, Dyfed SA42 0QT. 60 pp. 1994. Paperback, £4.50. ISBN 1-874161-29-1.

Fionagh Fay Green works as a solicitor in the Magistrates and County Courtsof Kent. Poems-in-Law is her fifth collection of poetry published to date. Aptlytitled, this book comes from her experiences of law and the people involved init. The 60 plus poems cover many aspects including divorce, drink driving,wills, murder trials, cannabis, marriage, mitigation, women in law, sentencing,judges and habitual criminals to name a few. The poetry is accessible, plain

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