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This book is a sign of the times, showing as it does how widespread is the dawning realization that sexual problems are of great significance for civilization in general. It is written by thirty-two American writers, if we include Dr. Wittels, at present in America, under that heading. The tone of the book is distinctly feminist, and it is dedicated to a number of women, from Georges Sand to Isadora Duncan, 'who have led in the struggle for sex emancipation and a finer civilization'. The Preface is almost entirely taken up with the impetus to sexual psychology given by Freud, but the opinion is expressed that, important as his studies have been in respect of the individual, they are unhelpful for sociological problems.
As is customary in such books, the contributions are of unequal value, but we would call attention to a most excellent introduction by Havelock Ellis, a breezy article by Judge Lindsey on 'Wisdom for Parents' and a trenchant piece of propaganda by Margaret Sanger on 'The Civilizing Force of Birth Control'.
Of the thirty-two contributions, two are by psycho-analysts. There is a special section entitled 'Sex and Psycho-Analysis', which comprises the following five chapters: Narcissism by Fritz Wittels; The Theory of the Libido by Smith Ely Jelliffe; The Psycho-Analytic Approach by Bernard Glueck; The Psycho-Analysis of Asceticism by E. Boyd Barrett; and Freud's Theory of Sex, A Criticism by Abraham Myerson. It is unfortunate that the expository articles on psycho-analysis are for the most part distinctly mediocre, and would often leave a far from clear impression in the mind of the reader. One of them, in fact, by Dr. Boyd Barrett, for whom the title of 'a practising psycho-analyst in New York City' has been invented, has no bearing on psycho-analysis. The critical article is also very disappointing. It is true that few people are able to express temperately and objectively the difficulties in the way of accepting Freud's conclusions, but we shou