A Handbook on Stuttering

This should be titled "Everything you wanted to know about stuttering but were afraid to ask." I own every edition of this book, going back to when it was a little pamphlet published by Chicago Easter Seals. Each edition has gotten better and this most recent one, obviously, is the best. There is no more comprehensive review of stuttering research available anywhere. A must-have for anyone who is seriously interested in the disorder of stuttering.

Everything you want to know about the history of research, theory, and treatment of stuttering is contained in this book. I have used it (and its predecessors) as textbooks in my course, as a reference in my own research, and as a resource just about any time somebody asks me "has anybody ever studied...?" If it's been written about, it's in the Handbook. This is truly an indispensable text and it should be on the shelf of every speech-language pathologist who evaluates or treats individuals who stutter.

This book will make you an expert on stuttering research from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Some later research is covered, but much is missed. This might sound like a problem, but there was much fascinating, now ignored research done in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Digging through this book you'll find some real surprises, e.g., two studies that unsuccessfully attempted to "distract" stutterers into fluency, or a study finding that stutterers are fluent when crawling. Reading this book makes you realize how the Ph.D.s ignored the research when touting their theories of stuttering (and that hasn't changed). But no one can accuse Bloodstein of ignoring research, at least before 1960.

Dr. Bloodstein's work will endure long after the current "how to make stuttering disappear" books via sleight of hand or "secret techniques" have been "swept away by the reality of their utter failure". Not an easy read, but an essential one for any clinician, scientist, or person who stutters. A complete reading will make one well-informed as to the nature of stuttering and decades of research findings- plus Bloodstein's cogent synthesis and interpretations. The critique on therapy in the back of the book is compelling, but all too often ignored.