It may be that the somewhat dramatic title of this book aroused false expectations in me, but when I had finished reading it I did not feel that I had confronted the reluctant rebels. The style and tenor of the book made the sub-title—“Re-education and Group Process in a Residential Community”—seem a more appropriate description, and this impression was underlined by the weighty lists of references and notes.

The first four chapters are given to theoretical considerations, and to setting the scene for the interesting account which follows of the therapeutic work at the Woodmarsh