Anger Kills

February 1, 1993
Redford ( The Trusting Heart ) and Virginia Williams ( Surrealism, Quantum Philosophy and World War I ), husband and wife, explain the interplay of psychology and medicine in this instructive book. Elaborating on Redford Williams's earlier work, which linked excess hostility to life-threatening illness, especially heart disease, they present new scientific findings as well as draw on their own experiences in their more than 30 years together. A questionnaire and other exercises are provided to help readers locate their hostility level and identify what types of things ``set them off.'' Finally, the authors outline 17 strategies to control anger. These include meditation, laughing at oneself, assertiveness, caring for a pet and performing community service. A deft balance of research and intuitive perceptions. Author tour.

February 15, 1993
This clearly written book is a continuation and elaboration of Redford Williams's earlier work, The Trusting Heart (Times Bks., 1989), in which he described recent scientific evidence linking hostile thinking and behavior to cardiovascular risk. In Anger Kills, the authors convincingly describe the damage that cynicism, anger, and aggression can do to personal health and to interpersonal relationships. A brief "hostility" questionnaire is followed by 17 proven techniques for changing these insidiously deleterious personality traits. The strategies are straightforward and practical. Follow even some of them and, at the least, you will improve the quality of your relationships. You may even prolong your life. A promotional tour should ensure high demand. Highly recommended for public libraries and wherever interest warrants.-- January Adams, Somerville P.L., N.J.

Copyright 1993 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 1993
Who wants to live life as a seething cauldron of human emotion? This husband and wife duo certainly do not, and so they availed themselves of two sources in proferring their advice: his medical work on stress-riven "Type A" personalities, and her trying times in dealing with his hostile manifestations of said type. Together they worked through it, and they present this book--along with assurances that life spans can increase--as an example of what can be achieved when anger is controlled rather than impulsively vented. After coming to a modus vivendi, they cooperated in outlining 17 coping methods, such as getting religion, getting a pet, becoming altruistic, becoming more trusting, and basically chilling out. Their methods work, they claim, and, roadtested in workshops, the assertion carries more justification than mere faith. The usual self-help accessories are included (self-quiz, structured logic to identify one's problem, Calvin & Hobbes cartoons galore), and since the authors are touring the nation and its airwaves, perhaps above-normal interest is in the offing. ((Reviewed Feb. 1, 1994))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)