For much of his career, Johnny Cash opened his shows with the tagline, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." This introduction seemed unnecessary, since everyone in the audience knew who he was -- the famous musical artist whose career spanned almost five decades, whose troubled life on and off the stage received wide publicity, and whose cragged face seemed to express a depth and intensity not found in any other artist, living or dead.

For Cash, as for many celebrities, renown was the product of both hard work and luck. Often a visionary and always a tireless performer, he was subject to a...

Skills for Communicating with Patients, Third Edition is one of two companion books on improving communication in medicine, which together provide a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning communication skills throughout all levels of medical education in both specialist and family medicine. Since their publication, the first edition of this book and its companion, "Teaching and Learning Communication Skills in Medicine," have become established standard texts in communication skills teaching throughout the world.

This substantially expanded third edition has been fully updated...