Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry, 4th ed

From our regular book review column.

Several short textbooks are available in psychiatry, but generally I have found them to be short on scholarly discourse and to skimp on the scientific bases of this discipline. The Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry is an outstanding success at giving a comprehensive review of the most up-to-date knowledge in multiple fields, combining a scholarly style, erudition, and readability. Using the term Shorter in the title, rather than Short, is undoubtedly a marketing choice—the book is over 1000 pages long, with 90 pages of references and a comprehensive index. However, it is paperbound, is very portable, and easily fits in one hand for many adults.