...the skills and interventions come tumbling out in an exciting, revivifying cascade-effective tonic for jaded cynicism.

Davies's well designed encyclopedia surveys the field of social work and is related discipline.

The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work provides a concise guide to 400 topics relevant to the practice of social work in the 21st Century. It brings together top authors in the field and draws on their detailed knowledge of politics, psychology, social policy and sociology. All service user groups are covered: children and families, offenders, older people, people with physical or learning disabilities, and those suffering from mental ill-health. The Encyclopaedia vigorously reflects the different and sometimes conflicting perspectives impinging on social work: research and evidence-based thinking, postmodernist ideas, social construction, psychiatry, the law and penology, management and personal value systems. The interests of service users, other professional groups, the media and the public are portrayed, and the central role of social work in contemporary society is demonstrated by the depth and range of subjects covered. A strong emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary and interprofessional perspectives. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work brings together a number of distinguished specialist writers to survey the social work scene. It will henceforth the starting-point for anyone wanting to get a sense of where social work is at in the 21st Century.

The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work provides a concise guide to 400 topics relevant to the practice of social work in the 21st Century. It brings together top authors in the field and draws on their detailed knowledge of politics, psychology, social policy and sociology. All service user groups are covered: children and families, offenders, older people, people with physical or learning disabilities, and those suffering from mental ill-health.The Encyclopaedia vigorously reflects the different and sometimes conflicting perspectives in social work: psychosocial research and evidence-based thinking, risk analysis, gender, cultural diversity, psychiatry, the law, management, human rights and personal value systems.The interests of service users, other professional groups, the media and the public are portrayed, and the central role of social work in contemporary society is demonstrated by the depth and range of subjects covered. A strong emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary and inter-professional perspectives. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work offers an essential starting-point for anyone wanting to understand the place of social work in society today.

The most wide-ranging account of social work in the UK:
The Encyclopaedia of Social Work, taken together with the Blackwell Companion to Social Work, provides the most wide-ranging UK-based account of the subject available today. The product of three years' editorial work, the book is the culmination of a lifetime spent in teaching and research. John Pierson, writing in the weekly magazine, 'Community Care', has hailed it as a handsome volume, providing an effective tonic for jaded cynicism. "Between these covers," he says, "social work is getting ready for the 21st century". Comments or suggestions from readers that might be incorporated in a second edition would be welcome.

Martin Davies has been a university teacher in Manchester and Norwich for thirty years. He was founding director of the social work programme at the University of East Anglia, taking it in two decades from the drawing board to premier position in England. He is author of The Essential Social Worker and Editor of the Blackwell Companion to Social Work (Blackwell, 1997). He teaches social psychology and research methods. Martin Davies is currently Professor of Social Work at the University of East Anglia, NorwichL. Rose Barton (Assistant Editor) is a lecturer in community care at the Open University.

2001-04-07 Every aspiring social worker should have one

Martin Davis has succeeded in drawing together material from some of the key authors in social work to create an impressive refrence tool. Only agencies and colleges could afford the Hardback version but now... every aspiring social worker should have one