Stress is a phenomenon that is intuitively grasped by most people, yet its scientific construct and clinical applications are surprisingly unsettled while also quite promising, as revealed in this valuable anthology. The editors-Monat, noted scholar and researcher Richard S. Lazarus, and Gretchen Reevy have provided a diverse collection of previously published articles on various aspects of the subject, including research reviews, theoretical discussions, and personal narratives (e.g., Lance Armstrong on battling cancer). The book is organized into five sections covering a description of the stress concept and its physiological and psychological manifestations, stress and illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and stress management and coping styles. While most of the well-chosen articles are scholarly, some, particularly those on handling stress, could be useful to self-help-minded general readers….As an authoritative, wide-ranging, and timely compilation on a significant contemporary problem, this work is recommended for academic libraries and allied health collections.

Library Journal

This handbook is recommended for all libraries (especially academic) as well as professionals in related fields.

American Reference Books Annual

[A] very comprehensive, informative, intellectually challenging, research-based, and scholarly encyclopedia on stress and coping. It gives readers solid historical and classic information, as well as contemporary thought and theories in the field of stress, that will be of significant value for researchers, students, scholars, and professionals in the fields of psychology, health sciences, medicine, pharmacology, psychiatry, nursing, and physical education….The editors' and contributors' skill in writing, their encyclopedic knowledge, clarity of thought, professional integrity, commitment to hard work, and team spirit shine in all 601 pages of this most comprehensive handbook….an excellent text and essential reading material for doctoral students, researchers, scholars, and professionals.

PsycCRITIQUES

In 31 narrative and research essays contributors ranging from academics to athletes and counselors to physicians address research on the mental and physical effects of stress as well as techniques to use to control or at least cope with stress. They describe the concept of stress and how it developed from the 1950s onward, linkages between stress and emotion, work stress, and neuropeptides' effects on the mind-body connection. Essays on stress and illness cover allostatic load, heart disease and racial differences in attitudes about it, depression, the role of metabolism and coping with HIV, while those on post-traumatic stress cover epidemiological studies, terrorism, neuropsychological processes and violent environments. The focus then shifts to coping, including cultivating optimism, developing a holistic coping system, caring for health and managing stress through group work, diet and exercise. Co-editors include the late expert Richard S. Lazarus.

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