From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism In recent years, increasingly convincing evidence in support of a biobehavioral conceptual model of the etiology of alcoholism has emerged. In this model, the disorder is perceived as arising from the interaction of geneticlbiological vulnerability and psychosocial risk. Drinking, or alcohol-seeking, is a metric trait. Alcoholism, which is a state of abnormally intense alcohol-seeking be- havior that, over time, leads to the alcohol dependence syndrome, lies at the extreme, high end of this quantitative measure. Metric traits are...

From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism In recent years the alcohol research field has matured and is attracting a substantial number of eager and technically sophisticated researchers. There is a feeling of excitement and premonitions of breakthroughs as more and more of alcohol's actions are being detailed. I, however, have at times been sobered by the perception that the lure of parsimonious explanations and the appeal of studying easily demonstrable effects obscure the critical issues re- garding alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Central questions regarding (1) the...

'Each topic is covered in sufficient depth, currency, and clarity to be of value to the neophyte and the seasoned researcher/clinician.' --- American Journal of Psychiatry, from a review of a previous volume The current volume addresses a range of issues across this diverse field, including the effects on society, physiology and biochemistry, clinical pathology, and trends in treatment.

Addiction is an increasingly recognized major global public health issue. A growing number of medical specialties, psychological and social science training programs, and professional associations are incorporating addiction as part of their training and continuing education curricula across a broad array of cultures. The need for an International Textbook in this expanding field has therefore become evident. Presenting a world view of the spectrum of addictions-related problems across different cultures, this reference volume highlights the main differences and similarities between clinical...

From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism The field of alcohol research has been slowly but continuously evolving, taking into its domain an ever-increasing array of scientific disciplines. This senes is designed to fill the need for, a review publication that covers the broad range of research into alcohol actions and alcoholism. Research in alcohol concerns social, epidemiological, and legal concerns in addition to biomedical and behavioral topics to greater degree than research with many other drugs. A publication devoted to alcohol research should serve the broadest...

From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism On behalf of the Research Society on Alcoholism, I am pleased to introduce this 14th volume of Recent Developments in Alcoholism about the consequences of alcoholism. Current concepts are presented in well-organized sections that focus on the medical, neuropsychiatric, economic, and biobehavioral con- quences of alcoholism. This volume contains up-to-date discussions of these issues. The editors and associate editors should be congratulated for bringing together such important information. This volume will be a valuable resource for...

From the President of the Research Society on Alcoholism On behalf of the Research Society on Alcoholism, I am pleased to introduce this thirteenth volume of Recent Developments in Alcoholism about alcohol and violence. Current concepts are presented in well-organized sections that - cus on epidemiology, neurobiology, psychology, and family issues. It is - coming increasingly clear that age, gender, socioeconomic circumstances, and genetics affect aggressive behavior and vulnerability to alcoholism. This v- ume contains up-to-date discussions of these issues. Indeed, the information presented...

The first book on Jewish humor in which individual jokes are singled out for comprehensive study, Life is Like a Glass of Tea devotes a chapter to each of eight major jokes, tracing its history and variants-and looking closely at the ways in which the comic behavior enacted in the punchline can be interpreted. One of the unique properties of classic Jewish jokes is their openness to radically different interpretive options (having nothing to do with wordplay or double entendre). This openness to alternate interpretations-never before discussed in the literature on Jewish humor-gives classic...