248 BOOK REVIEWS

the other, will be much better known to the readers of Stress Medicine as Jacobson’s progressive muscular relaxation. As such, it is an accurate and well-produced version of the original method. It would seem appropri- ate, however, to give at least some acknowledgement to Edmund Jacobson, who originated the method over 60 years ago and spent most of his life popularizing it, somewhere in the text of the manual rather than only mentioning his name in two references buried in the bibliography at the end.

There must also be doubt about the safety of the method when the tape is used in isolation, away from medical or psychological advice and support. Unless each individual is carefully assessed prior to treatment by such a health professional, one of the important contraindications for systematic relaxation may be overlooked. Acutely anxious individuals may find their condition made worse by unassisted use of this tech- nique, and hypertensive individuals have paradoxical surges in blood pressure, particularly with the isometric exertion involved. The results may be even more seri- ous when there is undiagnosed cardiovascular disease and the client tries a maneouvre guaranteed to send up both blood pressure and intrathoracic pressure by following the instruction ‘bring your head forward and try to bury your chin right inside your chest’. In spite of these problems, the method which this pack teaches, if applied and supervised by a suitable health pro- fessional who gives due care and attention to the psychological and physical indications and contraindi- cations, is likely to confer many of the benefits which Jacobson extensively documented.

MALCOLM CARRUTHERS The Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley

Hospital, London

The Signal was Spain. JIM FYRTH. Lawrence & Wishart, London, 1986. No. of pages: 344. Price: Paperback f6.95; Hardback f17.50.

This is a fascinating book. It recalls vividly, in great detail, a chapter in European history that has largely been forgotten. In the summer of 1936 General Franco rebelled against the democratically elected govern- ment of Spain. All wars are brutal, but civil wars are the most fearful of all, and this campaign was no exception. Throughout the conflict the British govern- ment tried to maintain a strict neutrality. It went on to create in Europe a Non-Intervention Pact with the countries on the continent. Under this agreement it was illegal to supply arms to Spain, and British citizens were not allowed to fight for either side. This pact was flagrantly broken by Germany and Italy, and to a

lesser extent by Russia, but in spite of this the Tory government continued to sit on the fence while the fascist powers ground down Republican Spain. Guer- nica, an open city, was flattened by German planes; it proved to be excellent bombing practice for Hitler’s young pilots. In spite of the ban on enlistment, hun- dreds of British volunteers crossed the channel to France and then made their way into Spain to fight with the Republican enemy in the International Brig- ade. The war was to last for three years, leaving Spain a completely devastated country.

The sympathy of Britain was divided: the ruling Tories were in favour of Franco, the socialists, liberals and many intellectuals supported the Republic. There were a few exceptions on both sides. It was permissible to send non-military aid, and never was Britain more generous in offering relief to the oppressed. Over those three years, well over f2 million (f30 million in modern terms) was subscribed to send food and medical sup- plies to the beleaguered Republicans; these funds came largely from the pockets of the poor, who found it hard enough to look after themselves in the hungry thirties. Many famous people supported the cause, such as J. B. Priestley, Benjamin Britten, Augustus John and Paul Robeson to mention only a few. Some of our most promising young doctors favoured the elected government of Spain, people such as Archie Cochrane and Dame Janet Vaughan. Medical services were organized and many hospitals in the field, close to the battle lines, were manned by British and Com- monwealth doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers. The splendid pioneer work of these people in the age of the divebomber went far to help modernize modern military medicine, in preparation for the even bigger war that was yet to come. In spite of the appalling conditions in which they had to work, the mortality rate for the wounded was far lower than it had been in the First World War. There were very few cases of shellshock, a reflection of the high motivation of the volunteer troops as compared with that of conscripts from 20 years before. The Quakers were prominent in offering help, both financial and with personnel. Their work lay mainly in the field of child care. It was not surprising that the welfare of children was supported by many charitable bodies, and sometimes they bit off more than they could chew. After the ruthless bombing of Bilbao, some 4000 Basque children were ferried across to Britain and housed in camps. This was alright in the summer, but when winter came other arrange- ments had to be made and all this gave rise at times to difficult situations. At the end of the war, Franco refused to allow the repatriation of ‘red children’ and homes had to be found for them in Britain, North Africa and in the Americas.

The book is full of information. The author must have spent a vast amount of time in his researches. I found the layout at times a bit confusing as I was conducted backwards and forwards over the war years,

BOOK REVIEWS 249

but the overall picture he paints is both striking and thought-provoking.

ARTHUR WAITS Ashby de la Zouch, Leics.

When Disaster Strikes. BEVERLEY RAPHAEL. Hutchinson Education, London 1986. No. of pages: 342. Price: f19.95.

This is perhaps the most comprehensive and compre- hensible book ever produced on the effects of disasters. Written in a clear and engaging manner, it is highly readable and should be helpful to individuals without professional training in mental health; it is also a schol- arly book for the professionals. The scope of the book is broad, covering a wide spectrum of disasters, responses and consequences, and dealing with a variety of issues related to rehabilitation. Another merit of the book is that it considers all parties directly or indirectly related to diasters and provides a balanced and integrated view. While discussing the various com- ponents in the disaster process, the author has never lost sight of the total picture. I believe that all caring professionals, regardless of their backgrounds and specialties, will find this handbook informative.

Having made the above positive remarks, I would like to add that the present book also has its limitations. From an academic standpoint, the author can be critic- ized for failing to touch base with important theoretical formulations developed by such influential psychol- ogists as R. S. Lazarus, B. P. Dohrenwend, R. H. Moos and S. Taylor. Lazarus’ cognitive theory of appraisal and coping is particularly relevant inasmuch as the importance of subjective perceptions of disasters is recognized by Dr Raphael.

Another area of weakness has to do with the cover- age of coping. The author has ‘attempted to draw together what is currently known about the nature of psychological response to the various components of disaster’, but she has fallen short of this objective. It is true that we still d o not have a taxonomy capable of encompassing all major coping strategies, nor d o we have a reliable and valid instrument to assess these strategies. Nevertheless, considerable progress has been made in this domain. In addition to the research by the above-mentioned psychologists, Janoff- Bulman’s work on self-blame, Lefcourt’s research on locus of control, Wortman’s analysis of attribution and reactance and S. Cohen’s systematic study of social support are just some of the examples of exciting new developments in stress and coping.

The most serious deficiency in my view is the pre- occupation with morbidity. Dr Raphael realizes that some survivors experience growth in competence and strength as a result of disasters but never deals with

this significant finding in any length. What makes these survivors different from those who develop psychiatric symptoms? What are the personal and situational characteristics and what are the adaptational processes that enable some survivors to thrive on disastrous experiences? Much can be gained by addressing such questions.

My concluding statement is that Dr Raphael has made a significant contribution to the literature. ’The above limitations partly reflect the immature stage of development of stress medicine and partly stem from the applied emphasis intended by the author; they should not therefore reduce the value of this handbook to practitioners.

PAUL T. WONG Trent University,

Peterborough, Ontario

Political Violence; Motifs and Motivations. PETER H. MERKL (Ed) University of California Press, 1986. f29.75. pp. 380.

This is a book which claims to fi l l significant gaps both in the general methodology of research in political violence and in the understanding of the motivations of individual members of violent political organiz- ations. To this end the book is divided into two parts, one dealing with ‘various methods already in use’ and the other concentrating on ‘newer methods’, for exam- ple the sociopsychological approach which attempts to account for individual motivations. It is on this part of the book that this review will concentrate.

This would appear to be justified, because it is in Part two, according the the editor, that the book makes its major contribution to knowledge in this area. Further the second part of the book occupies about two-thirds of the contents so the emphasis on the two themes is not evenly divided. Finally, as a social psy- chologist interested in explanation for intergroup con- flict I have to admit that it was to this section that I eagerly turned.

Sadly I must report that I was disappointed. That disappointment arose for two reasons. First the book is an edited work, bringing with it all the usual prob- lems. And secondly despite the Editor’s assurance that the second half of the book would use sociopsycholog- ical methods to understand political violence it seemed to me that very few of the chapters in Part two actually did so. The reason for this may well be that virtually all of the authors come from a political science back- ground and to me the majority of the chapters read more like political science or history.

Only two chapters came even close to the Editor’s original aims for this part of the book and these were a chapter by Wasmund on the political socialization of West German terrorists and a chapter by Clark on