Contemporary European Psychiatry: Edited by Leopold Bellak. (New York: Grove Press, 1962. Pp. 372. $7.50.)

American and European psychiatry are much more closely related and interdependent than superficial comparison suggests. American psychiatry is highly sophisticated methodologically, but apart from its emphasis on the psycho-dynamic and the sociological approach it has not yet evolved new concepts. European psychiatry has neglected methodology but has until recently been rich in original and fertile ideas. A marriage of the two could, in the editor's opinion, bring about a 'happy combination of adaptive originality and rigid control; of creativity and methodological sophistication'. The bane of European psychiatry is the lack of facilities for research, while American psychiatry suffers from excessive preoccupation with methodology and over-dependence on grant-giving committees. The editor invited leading representatives from France, Germany and Austria, Great Britain, Italy, Scandinavia, the Soviet Union, and Switzerland to write about the trends in psychiatry in their respective countries. Inevitably, the contributions are uneven and uncritical in parts. However, they successfully convey the orientation of psychiatry in the different countries. The method of presentation tends to exaggerate the differences between the various approaches. The intelligent reader will find this Cook's tour through European psychiatry conducted by native guides highly educative and thought-provoking.