The Organism. A Holistic Approach to Biology Derived from Pathological Data in Man: By Kurt Goldstein, M.D. New York: American Book Company, 1939. 533 PP.

There are two main currents in neurological thought of the present day. The older, continental, classical neurology is primarily interested in the science of signs and symptoms, so that an accurate diagnosis of the cerebral lesion can be made with precise localization. This school has achieved its greatest prominence in French neurology, which has developed an unusual skill in diagnosing the

locations of lesions in the central nervous system. The other school, which largely found its expression in the teachings of Hughling Jackson, is interested in the changes wrought by disease in the whole organism, and attempts to determine the nature of these changes.

Following the first World War, Kurt Goldstein became well known for his attempts to understand the exact nature of changes which took place in soldiers in whom there were extensive cerebral injuries. In spite of the extraordinary ample material which he had in his hospital, he limited himself to an extensive study of a few patients. He was one of the first neurologists to utilize a careful psychological analysis of his patients, and the present book is an expression of his ideas. His point of view coincides so strikingly with the methodology of the psychoanalyst, that one is tempted to quote his exact words:

'The procedure of investigating the patient, which Gelb and I have described as a case of visual agnosia, may provide an example. On the basis of our first examinations, which were not sufficiently exhaustive, we had formed a hypothesis which was not quite adequate. Further examinations drove us to the formulation of a new hypothesis which did justice to both old and new facts. The further we advanced with the examinations, the more clearly delineated did the functional disturbance in this case become. Finally, we have progressed so far toward constructing the total picture of the patient that we can predict with relatively great certainty how he will behave in any situation, even in respect to tasks