May 1996 edition

Throughout the country, legal dispute mediation is rapidly growing as a cost-effective and sometimes required alternative, or at least a preliminary, to the courtroom settlement of disputes.

Human relations expert Potter (Finding a Path with a Heart: How to Go from Burnout to Bliss, Ronin, 1994) has produced a superb guide to mediating disputes that will appeal to many readers, including managers, teachers, parents, and especially those directly involved in mediation such as law enforcement agents and attorneys.

Potter's focus here is to give the mediator pragmatic, step-by-step approaches to gathering information, controlling the opporsing parties, using active listening and body language, and making a decision about the dispute.

This excellent source can serve as a basic training manual for those involved in mediating disputes, and the extensive array of real-life examples of typical scripts that may play out in such situations helps further to clarify these ideas.

Developed with business and academic involvement, Potter's handbook is highly recommended, especially for libraries in communities with dispute-resolution centers.

Reviewer Dale Farris

Groves, Tex.