This book, written for psychologists, contains a mass of information. Inevitably, many items are incorrect and obsolete. Psycho-analysis gets a poor deal. None of Freud's writings published in English after 1920 has been mentioned. In referring to the psycho-analytical theory of obsessional neurosis the author quotes the seduction hypothesis dropped by Freud half a century ago. The bibliography comprises 1, 200 items, unfortunately not in alphabetical order.

There is no indication of the date of the appearance of this book or its previous editions, a most irritating feature which makes the intelligent reader feel that he is treated with contempt. There are two undated forewords and two prefaces. The book, with all its faults, is probably useful, but it raises the question whether psychologists in writing such textbooks are not taking on too much. It seems to be beyond the capacity of a single author, or even of two, to write a really good textbook of abnormal psychology.