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This is rather a long book, consisting of a large number of papers dealing with widely different aspects of the management of addictions. As the word management implies, the main emphasis is on treatment, reference to aetiology and pathology being made mainly in their relationship to treatment.
By far the greater part of the book is devoted to alcoholism, drugs being relegated to about one-fifth of the whole. This is perhaps a fair emphasis in view of the fact that alcoholism is much more prevalent, and much more pressing as a social problem. Even so, the actual problem of drug addiction seems to be dealt with in less detail and less convincingly than is that of alcoholism. The individual papers are not interrelated, and though they do deal with different aspects of the subject, there is a good deal of repetition. Practical details are given of the various kinds of treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction. For this reason the book will be likely to find its most useful place as a light reference volume for psychiatrists who are confronted with the inevitable problems which arise during the treatment of alcoholics or drug addicts.
It is encouraging to find out so much that can be done in a positive way to treat alcoholics or drug addicts, even when long-term psycho-analytical treatment is not available. The opinion that alcoholics differ constitutionally from other people in their nutritional needs is put forward in a thought-provoking way. It is stated also that there is an endocrine abnormality in alcoholics, though whether this precedes or succeeds the alcoholism seems to be in some doubt.
Most of the book is of little direct interest to psycho-analysts, except those actually treating an alcoholic or an addict, though a long initial chapter by John W. Higgins gives a good summary of current psycho-analytical concepts of the psychopathology of addiction. The second paper by Katz views the problem with a psycho-biological slant which is well presented and wo