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It is always a difficult task to bring up to date even so notable a book as this, after the lapse of more than a quarter of a century. Many of the reforms which were suggested and indicated by the first edition of this book have been accomplished. In particular, the basic formulation that the criminal act and the
criminal character are due to unconscious causes is now almost fully accepted. Nobody would dispute the fact that the outward manifestations of crime are but the visible part of the iceberg, and that the submerged and larger part is below the surface of consciousness. Psycho-analysis affords the best and only means of delineating, evaluating, and altering in a favourable direction, this submerged part. The plea of the book is that attention should be paid to unconscious processes, and that the seemingly inexplicable can thereby be understood.
The main emphasis seems to be upon the uncovering of id impulses with the implication that the ego will look after itself. It is thought that it would have been in line with more recent developments in the psycho-analytic study of crime had ego development been dealt with in greater detail, in particular in the achievement of a balance between over-ebullient instinctual impulses and the controlling forces. The recognition of a balance of forces inside the criminal psyche gives the opportunity to effect a synthesis rather than an ineffectual compromise between those who wish to treat the criminal as only ill and those who regard him as merely bad.
The clinical presentation is clear and interesting, as well as having an absolutely authentic ring, and there is a great deal of lasting merit in this book. It should be read by workers in psychiatric, legal, and psycho-analytic fields who cannot fail to derive benefit from it.