Understanding Herpes: Revised Second Edition

This book is accurate, easy to read, and written by a very well respected HSV researcher. It is slightly varied from most herpes books because is told from the perspective of a pediatrician. The size makes it approachable and easy to read in a short time, too.

* In general, this book helped me and my partner to understand the basic clinical facts and some lesser known clinical information about herpes, transmission, symptoms, treatment, etc. * Re: transmission: The author offers perspectives which surprisingly contradict some commonly held ideas about what is "safe" and "not safe", which makes this book particularly useful, if not a bit scarey. * Re: legal issues: The section on disease transmission and the ethics of disclosure is also well done and important. The author cites a case where someone who was lied to about a partner's STD status was awarded $600,000 in damages for pain and suffering, given the lifetime effects of herpes transmitted without honest disclosure. * Re: approach and tone: The book's appeal would have been increased with a more personal tone, with the author's voice addressed to us folks out here grappling with these difficult issues, and often at risk from partial knowledge and word-of-mouth guidelines. As it is the book is rather dispassionate, as if the busy physician author had transcribed a series of medical school lectures. * Re: also needed: Colored photographs of what typical outbreaks look like would have been very useful, as an addition to his useful black & white line drawings of virus transmission details. A good bit more could also have been provided about details of "safer sex" and relationship issues since we most need that out here in the real world. * Re: bottom line: As a clinical medical fact source it is an excellent and useful book.