When I received the letter from the editor asking if I was interested in reviewing a book on work inhibitions I immediately became symptomatic. Of course I was tempted to read the book, perhaps it held the key to understanding my own work inhibitions. On the other hand, perhaps to agree to do the review was itself a manifestation of work inhibition, a distraction from the more difficult task of completing the half-finished paper that lay on my desk. Though momentarily paralysed, my curiosity about the book proved stronger than my hesitation and I do not regret my decision.

This book is an example of a certain genre of psychoanalytic books. An editor asks a group of world-class analysts to write chapters on a large, encompassing topic, in this case the psychology and psychopathology of work. The resulting collection is inevitably uneven and lacks a central organising thesis and point of view. If, as in this case, the editors have made an effort to choose contributors from varied psychoanalytic