Public Relations Review

In sum, this is an up-to-date and useful text on human communications. If you

have never attempted to be analytical with your failures to communicate, try it the
next t i m e - - b u t first read this book.
MARK A. LARSON, Ph.D.
Journalism Department
Humboldt State University
Arcata, Calif.

Louis Forsdale
Perspectives on Communication
R e a d i n g , M a s s . : A d d i s o n - W e s l e y , 1 9 8 1 , 3 0 2 pp., $ 1 2 . 9 5

Although it was written as a textbook for college students in an introductory

communication course, Forsdale's book should be of interest to two different
professional audiences--for two different reasons. For public relations practition-
ers, it can provide an enjoyable refresher course and update on communication
fundamentals--that "touching base with basics" that we all need periodically but
seldom accomplish. And for public relations and other educators, Forsdale's text-
book can serve as a model of how one should be written.
Forsdale, a faculty member at Teachers College, Columt~ia University, opens
with two chapters neatly summarizing some of the definitions and models offered
for understanding communication. Next comes a history of the "three revolutions"
in communication: writing, moveable type, and the mechanical/electronic devel-
opments of the past 150 years. Separate chapters are then devoted to such topics as
the codes of communication; and the cultural and psychological contexts of com-
munication. Many readers will be interested in such chapters as "Two Kinds of
Intelligence: The Brain Hemispheres," "Nonverbal Communication" (which
touches on everything from haptics to proxemics), "The Medium is the Message"
(in which McLuhan is actually made clear), and "Other Creatures Communicate"
(which could also be titled, "What Are Those Dolphins Trying to Tell Us?"). A
chapter on how communication can be systematically studied rounds out the book.
A personal, anecdotal writing and clear exposition make this an eminently read-
able book. Its focus on interpersonal communication prevent its adoption as the
primary text in a mass communication course, but as a secondary text or optional
reading, it has much to recommend it.
JAMES H. BISSLAND, Ph.D.
School of Journalism
Bowling Green (Ohio) State University

G u i d o H. S t e m p e l I I I a n d B r u c e H. W e s t l e y ( e d s . )
Research M e t h o d s in M a s s C o m m u n i c a t i o n
E n g l e w o o d Cliffs, N . J . : P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1 9 8 1 , 4 0 5 pp., $ 2 0 . 9 5

In their introductory chapter, editors Stempel and Westley describe Research

Methods in Mass Communication as the "third book in 30 years specifically devoted
to mass communication research methods." The first two books, Ralph Nafziger
and Marcus Wilkerson's 1949 An Introduction to Jounzalism Research and Nafziger
and David Manning White's 1958 Introduction to Mass Communication Research,

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