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This book represents a reprint of part of a larger work entitled New History and the Social Studies, and in its present form aims at providing the reader with 'a serviceable summary of the major developments in social psychology and psychiatry which are of significance for the historian', an aim which on the whole is satisfactorily attained.
The book is divided into two main sections, the first giving a historical (and to some extent also a critical) account of the chief works on sociology, social psychology, social anthropology, etc., taken writer by writer or school by school. The second part deals with 'The Psychological Interpretation of History', and is devoted chiefly to a consideration of (1) the work of Karl Lamprecht, (2) that of Professor J. H. Robinson, (3) the historical applications of 'modern dynamic psychology' (for the most part psycho-analysis). The author is throughout very sympathetic to psycho-analysis, and the last part of his book makes it fairly clear that he expects greater help from this branch of psychological study than from any other, though he stresses also the difficulties of the application of this and of all other psychological descriptions to historical material; material where the data are apt to be deficient just when they would be most valuable, e.g. knowledge of the early life of important historical personages. It would seem, however, that the author's attitude here reveals itself to be not altogether free from ambivalence, as when he writes, 'The psyche of the departed is likely to remain a closely guarded secret for the most part; not even Freud, and possibly not even God can furnish the key which will unlock the mystery' (p. 152).
In the definitely historical part of his work Professor Barnes divides the problems into two main divisions, dealing with biography and with 'institutional and cultural history' respectively. Under the former heading he makes an original contribution in the shape of suggestive though brief and som