Psychological Disorder and Crime: By W. Lindesay Neustatter, M.D., B.Sc., M.R.C.P. With a Foreword by John Maude, Q.C. (New York: Philosophical Library. Pp. 248. $6.)

This is a book intended for non-medical readers who are involved or interested in how the psychiatric aspects of crime impinge upon the legal It is also of interest to doctors who wish to learn something about the problem from a non-specialist viewpoint. The style is lucid and there is a great deal of practical commonsense scattered throughout the book. The author has a kindly approach to his subject, but, though basically humanitarian, he frequently oscillates between sympathy for the criminal and sympathy for the victim. In places certain trite and platitudinous statements, usually the last words upon a subject, seem irritating and give the impression that the author was afraid either to take himself and his views entirely seriously, or—what is more probable—to confess in public that he does so.

Repeatedly one gets the impression that a sensitive and accurate observer fails to follow up the implications of his observations because due weight has not been given to the vital role of psycho-analysis in the elucidation of the psychopathology of the criminal. The few references to psycho-analytic work reveal a variable attitude, ranging from appreciation of Freud's contribution to a marked depreciation of the practical value of any