BAKALAR, Nicholas
(Nick Bakalar)

PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Home—5355 Henry Hudson Pkwy., Bronx, NY 10471. Agent—Balkin Agency, P.O. Box 222, Amherst, MA 01004.

CAREER:

Author and editor.

WRITINGS:

Wiping out Head Lice, introduction by Marguerite Mayers, Penguin (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Maureen Empfield) Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management, edited by Tina Beychok, Holt (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Alan Berkman) Hepatitis A to G: The Facts You Need to Know about All the Forms of This Dangerous Disease, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2003.

UNDER NAME NICK BAKALAR

(With Richard Balkin) A Writer's Guide to Book Publishing, third edition, Plume (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Jay Acton) Green Diamonds: The Pleasures and Profits of Investing in Minor-League Baseball, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

(Compiler, with Richard Balkin) John Paul II, The Wisdom of John Paul II: The Pope on Life's Most Vital Questions, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995, revised edition, Vintage Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(Compiler) Republican-isms: The Bloopers and Bombast of the Grand Old Party, illustrated by Roman Genn, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor, with Francine Cournos) AIDS and People with Severe Mental Illness: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1996.

The Baseball Fan's Companion: How to Master the Subtleties of the World's Most Complex Team Sport and Learn to Watch the Game like an Expert, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor) American Satire: An Anthology of Writings from Colonial Times to the Present, introduction by Stephen Koch, Meridian (New York, NY), 1997.

Contributor to the New York Times.

SIDELIGHTS:

Although he has written and edited books on other subjects, such as baseball and humor, Nicholas Bakalar has gained the most attention as a science writer who pens books on various health issues. Along with works about head lice and hepatitis, Bakalar's publications include Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management, written with physician Maureen Empfield, and Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari. The former is a guide that a number of critics felt would be useful to parents in fighting a problem that is one of the major killers of teenagers in America. Here, Bakalar and Empfield, who has served as a hospital director of psychiatry, offer case studies and advice on treatment, emphasizing the usefulness of prescription drugs as well as the importance of catching the disease early. Janis B. Petzel, writing in Psychiatric Times, felt that Understanding Teenage Depression does not offer anything new to say about the disease but would be useful if it were "the only book available to a family." Petzel, a psychiatrist herself, particularly criticized the book's claim that it included the most up-to-date information when she asserted that many of the drugs it discusses as treatment options have been replaced by newer drugs. On the other hand, Booklist reviewer Gillian Engberg called this work "an invaluable resource," and a Publishers Weekly critic similarly labeled it "comprehensive and informative."

Bakalar is also the author of Where the Germs Are, which explains the various places in the home and elsewhere where germs typically reside and how to best avoid them. For example, he discusses how family pets, money, and food can spread germs, and he also discusses various childhood diseases and the medicines available to treat them. While a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Bakalar misses some diseases, such as anthrax and histoplasmosis, his overall "writing is witty, and he gives all the details of germs and illnesses without medical school jargon." Booklist writer William Beatty concluded that Where the Germs Are is an "intriguing, solidly based safari through the world of germs."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Journal of Psychiatry, November, 1997, Philip E. Veenhuis, review of AIDS and People with Severe Mental Illness: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals, p. 1619.

Booklist, August, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management, p. 2068; February 1, 2003, William Beatty, review of Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari, p. 962.

New England Journal of Medicine, May 1, 1997, Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, review of AIDS and People with Severe Mental Illness, p. 1332.

Psychiatric Times, March 1, 2003, Janis B. Petzel, review of Understanding Teenage Depression, p. 25.

Publishers Weekly, July 2, 2001, review of Understanding Teenage Depression, p. 69; December 23, 2002, review of Where the Germs Are, p. 59.

Washington Post Book World, April 6, 1997, review of American Satire: An Anthology of Writings from Colonial Times to the Present, p. 12.