READER’S GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE HEALTH METHODS by...

READER’S GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE HEALTH METHODS by John Zwicky, Arthur W. Hafner, Stephen Barrett and William T. Jarvis (American Medical Association: $30; 348 pp., paperback original). Americans spend an estimated $10 billion a year on non-standard health-care treatments that range from apparently efficacious techniques that lack an established scientific basis to blatant quackery. The authors concede that many patients resort to unorthodox methods because they’re dissatisfied with the care they receive from unsympathetic and/or inattentive physicians. In an effort to put these practices in perspective, the four authors (who all are M.D.s or Ph.D.s) provide a brief explanation of treatments that include faith healing, iridology and hair analysis, and lists of both critical and proponent literature, enabling the reader to do his homework and take his choice. Although the writers avoid preaching to the converted, they make it clear that many of these “cures” confirm P.T. Barnum’s dictum about a sucker being born every minute.

WISE CHILDREN by Angela Carter (Penguin: $10; 234 pp.). Angela Carter’s last novel takes the form of the fictional autobiography of Dora Chance, one of a pair of dotty English sisters “born on the wrong side of the blanket,” i.e. they’re the illegitimate daughters of a great Shakespearean actor. Identical twins, Dora and Nora had a successful career as song-and-dance performers on the stage and screen; even at 75, they “can still lift a leg higher than your average dog, if called for.” Their often hilarious lives involved several other sets of twins, confused identities, improbable coincidences and numerous relatives of equally doubtful lineage: As Dora observes, “A mother is always a mother, since a mother is a biological fact, whilst a father is a movable feast.” The mildly bawdy humor of “Wise Children” suggests a good French farce, and leaves the reader mourning Carter’s premature death.

UNCLE JOHN’S FIFTH BATHROOM READER by the Bathroom Readers’ Institute (Bathroom Readers’ Press, 1400 Shattuck Ave . 25, Berkeley, CA 94709: $9.95; 228 pp., paperback original). This offbeat anthology of short articles recalls Jeff Goldblum’s line in “The Big Chill” about the limits of his job as a journalist. The eclectic assortment of quotes, slang etymologies, Republican dirty tricks and capsulate rumors about the deaths of Amelia Earhart and Elvis can certainly help to pass the time, and it’s a lot more interesting than “Jokes for the John.”

HEAVEN IS UNDER OUR FEET: A Book for Walden Woods edited by Don Henley and Dave Marsh (Berkley: $9.95; 292 pp., illustrated). When rock musician Don Henley learned that the forest that inspired Thoreau in 1845 was threatened by developers, he organized the Walden Woods Project to acquire and preserve the historic and environmentally significant area. This volume of essays by actors, musicians, conservationists, politicians and writers was produced to raise funds for the preservation effort. The quality of the contributions varies considerably, and the facile rhetoric tends to pile up in many of them. The authors of the most thoughtful pieces leaven their concern with humor: Bette Midler recalls her uncertain initiation into the joys of organic gardening, while Wallace Stegner offers some delightfully grumpy reflections on Thoreau. E.L. Doctorow notes: “That Walden is a humble place--an ordinary pond, a plain New England wood--is exactly the point. Thoreau made himself an Everyman, and chose Walden for his Everywhere.”

GREEK MYTHS by Robert Graves (Penguin: $16; 224 pp.). Robert Graves’ celebrated translations of classic myths are noted for their straightforward clarity: Anyone who’s tried to follow the tragic, muddled fate of the House of Orestes will appreciate his ability to untangle complex genealogies. This handsomely illustrated new edition offers excellent background reading for anyone eager to increase his cultural literacy quotient.

THE GREAT SOUTHWEST NATURE FACT BOOK by Susan J. Tweit (Alaska Northwest Books: $12.95; 223 pp., paperback original, illustrated). Tweit’sted chatty, informal guide offers readers an introduction to the flora, fauna and landforms of the region. Although the text focuses primarily on Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, much of the information also applies to the Mojave Desert. Reading this affectionate book aloud could provide a welcome diversion on a car trip through the dessert. Robert Williamson’s pencil drawings are adequate, but a basic manual requires clearer illustrations to help amateur naturalists identify specific animals and plants.

THE UNCLE FROM ROME by Joseph Caldwell (Penguin: $10; 288 pp.). Michael Ruane, the American hero of this curious but engrossing novel, has moved to Rome in an effort to escape the unhappy realities of his life. Although he’s spent a lifetime dreaming of operatic stardom, he lacks the ability to rise beyond the status of comprimario, a singer of secondary roles. His professional limitations exacerbate the mental block that prevents him from mourning the death of his ex-lover from AIDS. When a reigning diva asks him to lend prestige to a family wedding in Naples by posing as “the uncle from Rome,” Michael finds himself drawn into an embrangled world of blood feuds that suggest a modern-day Elizabethan drama. One of the supporting players in this contemporary tragedy is a heterosexual transvestite prostitute who forces Michael to confront the barren pettiness of his soul. Caldwell skillfully interweaves excerpts from “Tosca” and Britten’s “Curlew River” into his odd tale.

BIGOTRY, PREJUDICE AND HATRED: Definition, Causes and Solutions edited Robert M. Baird and Stuart E. Rosenbaum (Prometheus Book: $15.95; 238 pp., paperback original). This collection of articles and excerpts drawn from diverse sources is the latest installment in the “Contemporary Issues” series from Prometheus. The selections range from Jean-Paul Sartre’s withering portrait of a French antisemite to discussions of the effort to enforce politically correct speech on American college campuses. In addition to racism, sexism, religious bigotry and homophobia, the authors address problems of multiculturalism and the attempts to extend the definition of prejudice to include the categories of “weightism” and “lookism.” Not surprisingly, the book offers no easy answers, but it does provide a starting point for discussions of this insidious problem.