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In this second edition of his book on psycho-Analysis, Dr. Glover has brought up to date and expanded his account of basic psycho-analytic theory, first published in 1939 and reviewed in Vol. XI of this Journal.
The new edition includes a chapter on psycho-somatic and allied disorders, a further list of books for study, a glossary of terms and a short review of current modifications of psycho-analytical therapy.
Written for the use of medical practitioners, it aims at giving them a modicum of psycho-analytic understanding, so that they may recommend for suitable treatment patients who consult them with psychological problems and recognize mental disturbance underlying cases of stubborn organic illness.
The book divides into three parts, dealing with the theory of psycho-analysis, clinical psycho-analysis, and practical applications.
In the first section Dr. Glover introduces the theory of normal mental function, prefacing his observations with an outline of mental development in the first five or six years of life. He emphasizes the stress in terms of libido and ego development which accompanies this early phase of growth and underlines the causative part played in adult neuroses by childhood disturbances.
In the chapters on clinical psycho-analysis which follow, he proceeds to equip his reader with the etiology of different varieties of mental disorder.
Although his intentions are avowedly nontechnical, Dr. Glover has not been able to avoid technical concepts altogether. Throughout the book he concentrates on the theoretical and metapsychological aspects of his subject. Topographic, dynamic and economic viewpoints are given full consideration, while at the same time these are always related to total mental function.
This is a well-balanced and clear exposition with adequate basic concepts. It presents psycho-analysis as a diagnostic, therapeutic and research instrument. Dr. Glover, as he says himself, avoids controversial views and theories, his purpose being to acqu