From Publishers Weekly Colic affects one in five American babies and can cause families extreme distress and alter their dynamics for years to come. So what exactly is this dreaded condition? The answer to this question proves as hard to pin down as a crying baby， and readers will likely turn the last page of this book as confused as when they started. But no matter how you define it， parents with colicky babies need help， and Lester is certainly qualified for the job. He worked extensively with the noted Dr. Barry Brazelton and established the Colic Clinic at the Women & Infants Hospital in Providence， R.I. Lester makes a compelling case for bringing your squalling baby into his clinic， but for those who aren’t lucky enough to live near Lester and his team of specialists， the type of do-it-yourself advice he offers (get out of the house， help your baby learn to "self-regulate，" alter your diet if you are breastfeeding) is disappointingly commonsensical. After reading this book， many a worn-out parent will still feel the need to visit a pediatrician to pin down the specifics of a strategy. For instance， Lester includes a comprehensive Colic Symptom Checklist for parents to fill out， but never gives the tools needed to analyze the results. Lester clearly relishes everything and anything to do with colic and uses the book as a forum to share some of his research findings， such as the incidence of colic in other cultures and how colic impacts fathers. Though these essays prove informative， parents of a crying child may wish for a more direct， no-nonsense guide.Copyright © Reed Business Information， a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist This entry in the overcrowded field of parenting books stands out thanks to its narrow focus on crying--arguably the most common stressor for new parents. This commonsense guide isn't aimed at all parents， however; it is meant for the tough cases， those colicky babies whose parents really are getting desperate. Lester， founder of the only clinic in the country dedicated to colic， addresses what babies are trying to say when they cry， what to expect from a clinic， how to build a relationship with a colicky baby， an analysis of existing definitions of colic， how to tell if a baby has it， and parental depression， among other topics. Unfortunately， the bulk of the advice is aimed at mothers; fathers get one chapter near the end. Still， the tone is factual and calming， and the information here is just what the doctor should order for parents looking for a manageable way to deal with colic. Diane FooteCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved See all Editorial Reviews