The History of Psychiatry

The psychoanalytical sections, as would be expected from a distinguished psychoanalyst, are at once the main strength of the book and the main weakness in that they are relatively so full as to make the whole work appear overbalanced towards this school of thought. Drugs, physical treatments and community therapies each merit five or six pages?much less than is devoted to recent changes in personality theory. The style of the book is somewhat ponderous and humourless. The general layout and production are good, while the full references and appendices will be useful. In sum, it is the best general historical survey available of the mid-century position of