Massage Therapy: Principles and Practice
by Susan G. Salvo
Publisher: Saunders Press (original 1999)
review by Andy Roman

Amazon.com


Let me just start this review with "Mega 5 Stars"! This is an outstanding volume, both as a text book and as a practical guide. Its layout is pleasing to the eye and very readable. The enclosed CD's, for both PC and Mac, are a joy to interact with. How cool is it to have a full-color, visual movie depicting numerous muscle movements that accompany all sorts of regular events, like walking and standing up from a sitting position! It makes anatomy reachable, and, well, fun. I showed a few of the animations to my wife, who's also a massage therapist, and she said, "Wow!"

Also amongst my favorite aspects of this book: inserts in each chapter about key figures in the development of massage, not just Per Ling, either. There's sections featuring Paul St. John, Ashley Montagu, Janet Travell, Bonnie Pruden, and more; clever humanistic quotes at the start of each chapter ("One cannot step twice into the same river"); self-tests after each section, beautiful photographs and illustrations.

Do I sound like I'm gushing? I am. This is a great book! I imagine it would be demanding for a massage student in school, but for me, it's a cornocopia of awesome information in an intelligent, user-friendly format. Hats off to Susan Salvo!