This is not as simple a book as it appears, but it is one that will be of interest to very many people. Like a portrait, it says much about two people: the subject, or sitter, and the editor, or painter. The sitter is seen in relation to his surroundings, but also in relation to the painter. The analogy can be strained too far, of course, but as a general idea it is helpful to the reviewer, and I will return to it again.

The content of the book is mainly a selection of letters written by the well-known British psychoanalyst, D.W. Winnicott, to a wide variety of people: other psychiatrists and colleagues, friends and acquaintances, strangers, including some who had written to him asking for advice or information, and to outstanding individuals and editors of national newspapers and journals.