Editor's Introduction

Henry David Thoreau's injunction that “books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they are written” could be the motto of the book review section of any journal. It certainly is ours. In this way, we have a certain fraternity with similar sections in other journals, especially those pertaining to psychoanalysis. At the same time, our coverage of books seeks to be different.

First, books featured in this section will largely be in the realm of applied psychoanalysis. We will also include books written by nonanalysts and whenever we review clinically oriented books, our focus will be on the application of psychoanalytic principles to other forms of treatment. The content of our book review section, as a result, will be different from that of other psychoanalytic journals. Second, in the spirit of a truly interdisciplinary dialogue, will not restrict our reviewers to psychoanalytic colleagues. We will invite nonanalysts also to contribute to this section in the hope that the resulting freshness of perspective and diction will enrich all concerned. Third, when publishing the review of a book that has been reviewed elsewhere, we will include a reference to earlier reviews and thus give our readers one further opportunity to assess the book's message. Of course, in making such an offer, we can claim only diligence and not impotence. Fourth, in publishing longer essays on psychosocial topics of contemporary interest (e.g., psychoanalysis and law, psychoanalysis and culture, murder, racism, etc.), we will not restrict ourselves to psychoanalytic books alone and will include publications in related fields as well. Fifth, we encourage our readers to suggest books and reviewers that they would like featured in this section. Finally, in each issue of the journal we will make some introductory comments about the reviews included so that the visual impact and the intellectual flavor will always be one of continuity and coherence.

Two books are reviewed in this issue. The