The interpersonal tradition, by Irwin Hirsch, is an anthem to interpersonal psychoanalysis. This compilation of 12 clinical and theoretical papers published between 1984 and 2014, follows the arc of Hirsch's own thinking, while also offering a distilled chronicle of modern interpersonal concepts and ideas as forged over 60 years. Hirsch's perspicuous style makes this an ideal primer for those less familiar with the interpersonal school, but even the seasoned interpersonalist will be engaged by Hirsch's precise tweezing of a specifically interpersonal approach from the tangle of postmodern and intersubjective psychoanalytic theories. The book's tone, simultaneously penetrating and passionate, lends an air of tribal history to this compendium.

Hirsch begins near the beginning, with the roots of interpersonal thought: Harry Stack Sullivan and Eric Fromm. Sullivan was influenced by Ferenczi