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Reviews (1)
Aug 28, 2021
Comprehensive review
I purchased the hard cover. It was supposed to be new I believe.
Shipping: poor. Was supposed to be delivered on a Monday. Got an update that it would be in on Tuesday. No other updates until it was confirmed delivered. It was delivered on Friday but I suspect late and I didn't pick it up until Saturday morning.
Condition: not awesome. It got pretty beat up but it is all superficial and does not get in the way of reading the book.
Quality: binding=poor, guts=good+
The binding is not all that hard or we'll put together. The cover bends and if I were to bend it on itself it would fold permanently. Think hard cardboard but not normal hard hard cover backing. The guts seem to be well done
Accuracy: this I have not tested. I am busy at the moment but plan to compare it to am authentic digital copy of the DSM-5. This is the only part I truly care about so I will try to update my post after I check.
As described?: mostly. The guts seem to be ok. The binding is poor and it was pretty beat up when I got it.
Durable?: I suspect not based on the quality but I got this to care me through grad school and plan to buy a true DSM-6 when it is published.
Other: I have highlighted a bit and have not experienced smudging. Also all all the pages seem to line up, not like a poor photo copy. I suspect they got a searchable pdf of the DSM and printed into books. No blank pages or sequence issues that I have seen.
Conclusions and recommendations: the hard cover DSM is like 200 bucks. I am a poor grad student so I got this. It seems to be a perfectly acceptable substitute. If you are a professional just get a real one. The over all quality of materials in this one is poor, however if you need it for class or something short term this I think is a very good alternative. A DSM can be seen as an investment for your future, bit I suspect I will not need the 5 by the time I am able to practice so I got this one as my school copy to mark up. You get what you pay for.