Columbia University's Health Education Program

"The 'Go Ask Alice' Book of Answers: A Guide to Good Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Health" is a collection of about 250 intriguing and commonly-asked questions and answers picked from the Columbia University Health Services "Go Ask Alice" website (http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/). Like the website, "The 'Go Ask Alice' Book of Answers" contains seven main sections: relationships; sexuality; sexual health; emotional health; fitness and nutrition; alcohol, nicotine and other drugs; general health. Each main section starts with an overview of the types of questions addressed in that section. The questions are often very personal questions which many people would be afraid to ask, or would not know whom to ask. All questions are anonymous, which makes asking "embarrassing" questions a lot easier. Responses are provided by a team of health-care providers, health educators and other health professionals in a non-judgmental and straightforward manner while providing helpful information. Some responses are marked with a "RES" symbol, which indicates that more information can be found in the "Resources" section in the back of the book. These resources include print and non-print resources such as Web sites, e-mail addresses and movies. This book is specifically geared towards young adults because the majority of the questions are asked by teenagers and people in their twenties, so they have to do with health concerns and questions one may have in that age range, but a lot of them can be of interest to adults as well.

This book was published in 1998, when access to the Internet was not as widespread as it is today, and it was a way of reaching people who did not have access to the website. However, with today's access to the Internet being much more widespread, I think this book has lost some of its relevance because most students will be able to access the website which contains a lot more information ("over 3,000 previously-posted questions and answers", according to the website). It is also reasonable to assume that some of the resources mentioned in the book are outdated and/or not available anymore whereas the website is kept more current. Some of the responses might need additional and updated information as well.

Nonetheless, I think this book is still a very good resource to have in a high school library because its subject matter is definitely of interest to Gr. 9-12 students. In addition, still not all high school students have access to the Internet at home (from where they would be more likely to want to access this type of website, I think), and even those who do may prefer the convenience and higher privacy afforded by a print version which can be read anywhere. Also, another reason for having this book in a high school library is that it could be used by teachers in health classes, for example, as a supplement to the class textbook.… (meer)