Reviews for Criminal Law Handbook on Psychiatric and Psychological Evidence and Testimony - John Parry -...

The average rating for Criminal Law Handbook on Psychiatric and Psychological Evidence and Testimony - John Parry -... based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-08-29 00:00:00 Vitaly Volkov I read this on Amtrak on the way from visiting my mom in Sacto to my mother-in-law's house in Fresno (where I am currently living while my husband goes through chemo.) It is a series of essays about in-laws that various authors contributed. Overall, I thought that the editor's voice was too pronounced. You could hear the same voice throughout the stories; I literally had to flip back a couple of times to make sure that I was actually reading a different author. I don't like that. I want the individual author's voice to really shine, not the editor's voice. Some of the essays were about wonderful in-laws, some about difficult in-laws. It was an easy read and kept me entertained for a couple of hours. All in all, I feel cheated out of time that I could have spent reading a more engaging book.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-08-15 00:00:00 Todd Mason It seemed appropriate to finally read this the week that my own in-laws are coming for their first post-wedding visit (we're 1600 miles apart). I've already read The Bitch in the House and The Bastard on the Couch and a few additional similar essay collections, and this volume stays within that vein. It is more serious, however, which is unsurprising. There's just too much inherent conflict in the topic. You also lose some of the annoyance of only hearing from NY/LA freelance yuppies because at least their in-laws come in a wide variety of types. Although there's still an awful lot of Jew vs WASP. Many classic disagreements are mysteriously missing -- how to raise the kids, dividing up holidays, money. (Then again, how many writers would dare? Even under a pseudonym, your spouse will still know.) Instead, it's mostly death, divorce, and generally getting acquainted. There are two sets of his/her essays, which is clever enough, although there's nothing in the pieces themselves to reveal the connection. I particularly enjoyed the pieces by Michael Chabon, Susan Straight, and especially Barbara Jones. The sole pseudonymous piece was well-written but I was too distracted by the mystery of her incredibly crappy-from-the-get-go choice of husband to really absorb it. I have no idea whether I will get anything personally useful from reading this. I'm not six months into my marriage. But it was a pleasant, thoughtful read regardless.