This book starts with a clear and detailed introduction by Didier Anzieu, which proves essential reading in order to appreciate fully the stature of Lagache and his main psychoanalytic contributions. The reader is informed that Daniel Lagache was a prime figure in the history of the psychoanalytic movement in France. He participated in the historical splits within the French psychoanalytic movement, being inaugural president of both the French Psychoanalytic Society in 1952 and the Psychoanalytic Association of France in 1964. In 1947 he founded the Library of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Psychology at Presses Universitaires de France, and under his direction Laplanche & Pontalis produced their important reference book, The Language of Psycho-Analysis.

Lagache wrote extensively from 1932 to 1964. Eva Rosenblum collated his works and published them in six volumes between 1977 and 1986. This book contains a translation of selected texts held