cerning nutrition" is all too brief on the crucial problems of nutrition education which are essential in all considerations of nutrition and food programs. A valu­able chapter is that on education of pro­fessionals and paraprofessionals. Part 4 deals with "improving large-scale pro­grams and agencies" and is a mixed grouping of topics. Chapters on Food and Drug Administration and on public health nutritionists stand out for content not readily available elsewhere.

This book lacks continuity, and there is overlapping of information in a num­ber of chapters. However, those willing to read critically-and who have a genu­ine interest in the need for organized ef­forts to solve the problems of this decade in meeting the varied nutritional needs of the population and providing nutrition education along with a safe, wholesome food supply within the income range of different groups~wiII find this book a useful resource.

E. Neige Todhunter, Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Nutrition, School of Med­icine, Vanderbilt University, Nash­ville, Tenn.

The Psychologist's Eat-Anything Diet, Pearson, L. and Pearson, L. R., Peter H. Wyden, Inc., New York, NY 10017, 1973, 276 p., $6.95.

It would be a mistake to read this book as a weight control diet manual. The un­fortunate title encourages that, but this is neither a diet manual nor acaH to "eat anything." It is instead a guide to eating awareness.

Leonard Pearson, a psychologist, and his wife Lillian, a psychiatric social worker, co-authored this book, based on workshops they conduct to help the obese increase their food awareness and enjoy­ment.

The Pearsons' thesis is that every be­havior serves a purpose. If eating be­havior fills a need, it should be continued, but only after the specific need is identi­fied and understood by the eater.

There are a few inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the book. Most important is ,the misrepresentation of the classic Clara Davis study in which infants self­selected a balanced diet from a variety of foods. The authors use this study to assure those who love sweets that they will eventually balance their diet natur­ally. However, the infants in the Davis study were not offered sweets but only good foods from the "Basic Four."

One wonders about the Pearsons' promises for success in weight loss. No formal records were kept of their claimed

VOL. 5, NO.3, JULY-SEPT., 1973

successes. Also, the approach may work only for middle- and upper-income white females~who made up most of the Pear­sons' subjects. In fact, many of the direc­tivescould not be carried out on a limited budget. Perhaps the book alone, without the attention of a kindly ther­apist, will be insufficient to encourage a decreJse in weight and an increase in self-respect.

Morissa White, graduate student in public health nutrition, University of California, Berkeley

The Carbo-Calorie Diet, Mart, D. S., Dolphin Books, Doubleday & Com­pany, Inc., Garden City, NY 11531, 1973, 114 p., paperback, 95 cents.

As you might guess, this diet is a com­bination of low-calorie and low-carbo­hydrate regimes. The "carbo-'Calorie" is a hypothetical unit, and the reader is ad­vised to eat 1 00 "carbo-calories" or less per day (equivalent to 1 ,200 Calories and 60 gm. carbohydrate). The "gim­mick" is unusual and could have been useful, but nowhere in the book does the author-a mathematician~mention that there are important nutrients that need to be provided in any weight reduction diet.

The author states that any foods can be chosen as long as the "carbo-calorie" count is 100 or less. Some of the book's sample menus are nutritional near-dis­asters. For example, the "typical" veg­etarian day's menu contains very little protein and then only in one meal (break­fast). The "ordinary day menu" contains almost no calcium.

It is too bad that a potentially useful idea, the "carbo-calorie" diet, ends up as an inexpensive and probably best-selling paperback that will further contribute to people's misunderstandings about weight control and good nutrition. M.C.P.

The Teaching of Home Economics, 3rd ed., Hatcher, H. M. and Hakhin, L. C., Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA 02107, 1973, 372, $9.95.

With the challenge of rapid changes in home and community life, the authors encourage secondary home economics teachers to participate with them in find­ing solutions to problems associated with development of effective programs. Questions are posed in chapter titles and introductory comments with each sec­tion.

Major categories of content concern personal growth of the teacher and rela­tionships with others; selection and utili­zation of teaching techniques and re­sources; and curriculum development

and use. Emphtasis is given to the significance

of interpersonal relations and individual growth to successful teaching and the importance of giving the learner more responsibility for his learning, through his involvement in development and eval­uation of learning experiences. Focus is on student interest and participation in planning learning experiences.

Explanations of terminology, and changing terminology, in the field of learning theory are generally good. How­ever, the explanation and example of be­havioral objectives and their use might be strengthened to assure understanding.

Curriculum development receives in­creased attention in this edition, and in­dividualization of the curriculum for students is stressed. Thus, further elabo­ration by the authors of the application of individualization in the classroom sit­uation, would be appropriate.

The book will be useful to beginning and experienced teachers in evaluating their methods. Nutrition educators will find the recommended approaches to teaching home economics, including real-life learning situations, can be used advantageously in their work. Three other professionals worked with the re­viewer in evaluating this book.

Martha A. Poolton, Ph.D., Head, Di­vision of Home Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie

The Ecology of Malnutrition in Mex­ico and Central America, May, J. M. and McLellan, D. L., Studies in Medi­cal Geography, Vol. 11, Hafner Press, New York, NY 10022, 1972, 395 p., $15.00.

This is the eleventh volume of a series on the medical geography of malnutrition in the world's less technologically devC'!­oped countries begun by Jacques May in 1958. In it, the authors address them­selves to the "dilemma of development" for the countries of Mexico and Central America. Sharing the same language and similar agricultural practices, these eight countries have different potentials to break the circle of poverty-low yield, poor diets, etc.-but for all it is difficult.

The book provides a general picture of diets and their adequacy and of econom­ic, environmental, and other factors which affect them. As such, it should be of interest to economists and planners as well as nutritionists and other health pro­fessionals. There are good bibliographies for each country. It would have made more satisfying reading to have had a brief summary chapter at the end, but

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