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The Course of Life, Volume II, Early Childhood is part of an updating and expansion of this landmark series on the study of human development. Four hundred and fifty six pages long plus indexes, it contains fourteen chapters by eleven different authors or coauthors, all of whom are acknowledged leaders in the field. Included are contributions by Stella Chess & Alexander Thomas, Eleanor Galenson, Stanley Greenspan & Alicia Lieberman, John McDevitt & Margaret Mahler, Peter Neubauer, Henri Parens, Sally Provence, Calvin Settlage, Albert Solnit and Marian Tolpin & Heinz Kohut.
Since the individual chapters are not discussed by the editors and have no specific connexion other than the focus on early childhood, the book may be approached as a collection of essays to be read separately. For the analyst who is familiar with the literature on early childhood, this volume will contain much that is familiar and an occasional article which breaks new ground. On the other hand, the reader who is unfamiliar with or has a limited acquaintance with the field of early child development will find comprehensive up-to-date summaries of current trends and excellent bibliographies to point the way to further study.
Early childhood is interpreted by most of the authors as the interval between ages one and three. The first year of life and the oedipal years are not addressed in most chapters. With the exception of an article on self psychology by Tolpin & Kohut, the theoretical orientation of the volume is 'classically' psychoanalytic. The only chapter written by nonanalysts is the contribution of Chess & Thomas on temperament. The work of Mahler is a 'red thread' running through many of the chapters. Mahler's dominant influence on current thinking about the first three years of life is readily apparent.
The remainder of the review will consist of a brief critique of each chapter. The book begins with 'Direct observation and psychoanalytic developmental psychology: the child from o