Current Controversies Series. Drug Legalization.

CURRENT CONTROVERSIES SERIES. Drug legalization. Balkin, Karen F., ed. 208p. 0-7377-2203-7 Immigration. Gerdes, Louise I., ed. 224p. 0-7377-2780-2. Medical ethics. Egendorf, Laura K., ed. 190p. 0-7377-2213-4. Greenhaven. bibliog. index. c2005. $23.70 each. SA

This series offers anthologies of primary sources that present various sides of the debate over social and political issues. Drug Legalization examines three main topics--whether prohibition is an effective strategy in the war on drugs, whether US drug policies should be liberalized, and whether marijuana laws should be relaxed--with contributors ranging from government officials such as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to journalists to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Immigration looks at whether immigration is a serious problem, whether immigrants are treated fairly in the US, how the US should respond to illegal immigration, and how immigration should be controlled, with articles from white nationalists, historians, attorneys, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, and others. Medical Ethics raises the issues of whether the health care system is fair, what ethics should guide organ transplants, and whether reproductive and genetic technologies such as cloning are ethical, with articles from physicians, journalists, professors, and biologists.

An introduction in each book gives some background on the debate, and the chapters in each are preceded by a one-page summary of the issues discussed; in addition, each author is briefly introduced, and the books include an annotated list of organizations to contact. The range of opinions and the variety of sources are impressive, and this up-to-date series will be valuable to students doing research for debates or papers. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advance students and adults. This code will help librarians and teacher working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.