Alcohol ¦ Animal Rights ¦ Genocide ¦ Mental Illness

These four well made and robust information books come in appropriately funereal livery, the black gloss of the covers broken only by pastel titles and monochrome photographic motifs related to the themes. The coverage inside the books is not as sepulchral as these exteriors suggest, though one would not of course anticipate a light-hearted romp through any of these topics.

All of the books are written in clear but uncondescending prose. They present the available information well and allow it to speak for itself, though discussion prompts are inserted at strategic places. The texts are illustrated with contemporary photographs, most of them in colour. My only reservation about the layout is the occasional use of models in obviously posed photographs, a slightly meritricious touch which to my mind detracted a little from the very honest and forthright presentation of issues. As far as ‘balance’ is possible and desirable, the books provide it. Leigh is frank about the misery caused by mental illness, but provides optimistic information about promising drug regimes, alternative therapies and greater public honesty. James describes the cruelties involved in vivisection, dolphinaria, big game hunting and factory farming but poses questions about benefits to medicine and other aspects of human welfare. Haughton provides grim evidence of the human costs of alcohol consumption, but points out some of its benefits and the inconsistent attitude of society to other drugs. Predictably, Grant’s book on genocide, written in collaboration with Amnesty international, provides the most painful reading. He makes the point that this practice appears to be as old as history and as widespread as humanity, and that we are no nearer to ending it than we were at the end of the second world war, when ‘never again’ was the unanimous response to the death camp revelations.

These are informative and thought provoking books, highly recommended for KS3 and beyond. Each book has been written in collaboration with consultants who are acknowledged in the credits.