Readings In Psychoanalytic Psychology. Morton Leavitt 1959. Pp.  413  Appleton-Century-Croft, Ed. $8.50.

According to its editor, the purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive source of both theoretical and practical aspects of Freudian psychoanalysis. He admits that no single volume can adequately cover the profuse literature to date, and he has selected certainly some of the best-known writers to represent what he considers significant problems in the field. Of the 26 papers included, about half have been previously published in other journals. The book is divided into six sections, covering general considerations, psychosexual theories of development, the ego and defensive processes, diagnostic problems, the application of analysis to basic psychology, and the relationship of psychoanalysis to allied fields.

Much of the material is either a repetitive presentation of Freud's original writings, a restatement of classical principles, or a review of the literature after him—for instance, Leavitt on “Freud's Psychological System,” Fries on the “Latency Period,” Hartmann on the “Ego Concept,” Arlow on “Drives,” Fleiss on “Thought as Expressed in Dreams.” While such articles are necessary as part of a total presentation,