Handbook of psychology. / Irving B. Weiner, editor-in-chief.

Contents: v.1. History of psychology / Donald K. Freedheim, volume editor -- v.2. Research methods in psychology / John A. Schinka, Wayne F. Velicer, volume editors -- v.3. Biological psychology / Michaela Gallagher, Randy J. Nelson , volume editors -- v.4. Experimental psychology / Alice F. Healy, Robert W. Proctor, volume editors -- v.5 Personality and social psychology / Theodore Millon, Melvin J. Lerner, volume editors -- v.6 Developmental psychology / Richard M. Lerner, M. Ann Easterbrooks, Jayanthi Mistry, volume editors -- v.7 Educational psychology / William M. Reynolds, Gloria E. Miller, volume editors -- v.8. Clinical psychology / George Stricker, Thomas A. Widiger, volume editors -- v.9. Health psychology / Arthur M. Nezu, Christine Maguth Nezu, Pamela A. Geller, volume editors -- v.10. Assessment psychology / John R. Graham, Jack A. Nagliere, volume editors -- v.11. Forensic psychology / Alan M. Goldstein, volume editor -- v.12. Industrial and organizational psychology / Walter C. Borman, Daniel R. Ilgen, Richard J. Klimoski, volume editors.

e.g., the essay on expanding roles for psychologists admits that some are "scoundrels for hire," while others are great benefactors. A few quibbles: though hypnosis is mentioned in Volumes 1 and 9 (though not in "Pain"), it also belongs in Volumes 4, 8, and 11. Astonishingly, entries for Jung and Rank are missing from Volume 8. Some topics are fragmented: Volume 9 has "Obesity," while "Eating Disorders" is in Volume 8. There is neither an overall index for the set nor any journals lists or web site references, though computer and Internet technology do come up.

Unlike an encyclopedia, the volumes in this set can stand alone as state-of-the-field handbooks. Together they cover both the science and the practice of psychology broadly and in depth. Each volume has its own editor(s) and contains some two dozen articles by experts who write well for an audience intended to include graduate students in behavioral science, professional psychologists who need a refresher course in their own specialty and/or an introduction to others, and educated readers outside of psychology who want to delve into it. Organized with great care, the set has a logical integrity unified by two threads: the history and evolution of each topic and the importance of research. Accordingly, the first two volumes treat history and research methods. The next five present content areas, and the last five are devoted to applied psychology. Volume 1 treats the history of the topics in the next 11 volumes and also offers 15 articles on such issues as intelligence, emotion, personality, women and gender, undergraduate education, and ethnic minorities. Editor-in-Chief Weiner (psychology, Univ. of South Florida) writes the essay on assessment and the lead article in Volume 10, breathing life into a typically dry corpus. The references are remarkably current (many have appeared since 2000), and controversy pops up