Drug and alcohol abuse: a clinical guide to diagnosis and treatment

Authored by Marck A Schuckit. Published by Springer, New York, 2006, $52.04, pp 404. ISBN 13.978-0387-25732-7 As the subtitle indicates, Drug and alcohol abuse is a clinical guide, no more, no less. The fact that it is in its sixth edition shows that it sums up important and indispensable information for specialists working in clinical addiction medicine, ranging from the basic concepts of addiction medicine, through the diagnostic criteria of the different addictive syndromes, to the specific treatment methods. Right in the first chapter the author emphasises that the book has undergone considerable changes and development since the appearance of the first edition (1979). A separate study could be made of the contemporary development of addiction science by comparing the different editions. In each edition, in defining the priorities for the different drugs, Schuckit takes into account how popular the particular substance is with users at the time. As a result, this edition contains no information on …