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This collection of studies about human motivation shows how the author fluctuates between his two mentors: Hull, the rigorous behaviourist, whose work he sums up in the word ‘system’; and Freud, to whom he allocates the word ‘idea’. A study entitled ‘Psycho-analysis and religious mysticism’ suggests that Freud is more to him than a man who has ideas, and that he represents the intuitive and visionary side of the author. Sometimes the visionary is reduced to an imp peering out of an apparently strict and systematic argument, as in ‘The achievement drive and economic growth’. Sometimes there is a well-balanced marriage, as in ‘The psychodynamics of creative scientists’, and sometimes the visionary is allowed more space, though not without some feeling of guilt, as is evident in his introduction to ‘The Harlequin complex’. This study is, in fact, not a ‘wild flight of fancy’ but a serious piece of research which is likely to interest analytical psychologists. The author relates the tendency of women to fall in love with death to the Harlequin myth which he traces in its many guises through the ages. Psychological tests are introduced to support this adventure into feminine psychology which is relatively unknown territory to him. It seems odd that he has not come across any contributions by Jung or his followers to the psychology of women and its mythology. Nevertheless, the Harlequin theme is a welcome addition to the subject.