Psychiatry: An Oxford Core Text (Oxford Core Texts)

"For students of any mental health profession, this is an essential text. If you have ever come across Maurice Sainsbury's "Key to Psychiatry", found its approach direct, concise and waffle-free and longed for a more up-to-date text like it, this is it. It is linked throughout to the ICD-10 and DSM-IV (as every psychiatry text should!) The text doesn't spare a word, the language is rich and free of vague opinionating. Packed as it is with key facts and concise, clear explanations there is little room left for waxing lyrical! But if you like your text books to-the-point, with plenty of bullet-pointed tables elucidating concepts at-a-glance and set out under easy-to-find headings in bite-size chunks, this text does it without using the rich detail needed. Get it!"
~ Written on 2004-02-13

"This book does exactly what is says on the cover. At 500 pages, it is a concise, practical textbook covering the core knowledge needed by clinical medical students and other health workers who may encounter patients with psychiatric problems.

Unfortunately, it is extremely dry. No attempts are made to bring the subject to life through illustrative case histories, there are no easy-to-grasp diagrams/flow charts and no self-assessment quizzes to test the reader. Reading more than a few pages can therefore be extremely hard going (I wouldn't even attempt it for cramming - you won't take anything in).

I ended up using it as a reference book, when my far more user friendly "Psychiatry At A Glance" wasn't quite up to scratch. On the plus side, the sections on evaluation, risk assessment and management for each condition are universally clear and comprehensive.

Once you have met a patient with the psychiatric condition described, this book will contain everything you need (big picture and little extras) to impress at ward rounds. But don't expect a thrilling read!"
~ Written on 2003-06-01