This soft-bound volume compiles, condenses, and criticizes an enormous volume of research in sociological, ethnological, psychological, and medical aspects of bereavement. It is a valuable resource for the practicing pediatriccian, who will find in it a refreshing and comprehensive digest of current clinical and research literature about death and dying. Ethnicity, preexisting personality variables, and the nature of the prior relationship with the deceased become major determinants of the outcome. The volume is clearly written, well organized, and extensively referenced.
Pediatricians will be especially interested in the chapter entitled "Bereavement During Childhood and Adolescence" but may also be intrigued by the section on "Perspectives," which presents grieving as an adaptation within the "psychoneuroimmunoendocrine system" and which speaks to the sociocultural influences that can accentuate or attenuate the grieving process. In addition, there is a fascinating discussion of differences in the parents' reaction when a child is stillborn or dies in