Eating Disorders: Understanding Causes, Controversies and Treatment. Edited by Justine J. Reel. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2018. 2 vols. Acid-free $198 (ISBN 978-1-4408-5300-5). E-book available (978-1-4408-5301-2), call for pricing.

This two-volume set from Greenwood explores eating disorders and their causes, treatment, and prevention. The editor, Justine Reel, is a researcher and licensed counselor specializing in disordered eating, obesity prevention, and sports psychology, and she has assembled a knowledgeable team of psychologists, nutritionists, eating disorder specialists, and researchers as contributors to this encyclopedia. Articles in the volume are listed alphabetically and include topics on medical and psychological disorders, sports medicine and exercise, popular culture, therapies, and comorbidities common to eating disorder patients. Each entry begins with an overview, a brief history if warranted, and a discussion of how the topic relates to or affects eating disorders. A bibliography accompanies each signed article, and cross references are included for further investigation. In addition, interviews with people suffering with or affected by eating disorders are included in appropriate sections, and a comprehensive index at the end of volume 2 aids in locating individual topics. Two helpful sections are included at the end of volume two: “Controversies and Debates” gives opposing viewpoints on issues within the eating disorder research community, and “Case Illustrations” gives ten examples of patients with potential eating disorder symptoms and the possible diagnoses and treatments that are available for their conditions.

Although differently titled, Eating Disorders: Understanding Causes, Controversies and Treatment seems to be an overhaul and update of Reel’s earlier volume Eating Disorders: An Encyclopedia of Causes, Treatment, and Prevention (ABC-Clio, 2013). An update was sorely needed, however, as some of the eating disorders identified in Reel’s earlier edition have been recategorized or deprecated in the new DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There currently are not many good reference resources on eating disorders for a general audience. Most books fall either into the professional medical area and are written for specialists or else are more in the self-help genre. Omnigraphics is releasing a new edition of their one-volume Eating Disorders Sourcebook this year, which may be a viable alternative, but Eating Disorders: Understanding Causes, Controversies and Treatment is an excellent resource on the topic for general readers, high school age and above.—Amanda K. Sprochi, Health Sciences Cataloger, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri