Readings in Psychoanalytic Psychology: Edited by Morton Levitt. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1959. 413 pp.

Since interest in psychoanalytic writings seems to remain high on the list of current literature, this anthology consisting of a number of papers by qualified contemporary authors has value for the student

of the behavioral sciences, for the professional worker in the fields of psychology, sociology, and psychiatry, and also for the general reader. The preface by the editor makes it clear that the book is intended 'to provide … reliable source material' for such readers, and this purpose appears to be well served by the judicious presentation and arrangement of the material, the editorial notes preceding the various articles, the collateral reading lists appended to them, and an index.

The book is divided into six sections: General Considerations, Developmental Psychology, The Ego and Defensive Processes, Psychoanalytic Diagnosis, Theory and Technique, Applied Psychoanalysis. Every section consists of several papers written by well-known analysts including, among others, Helene Deutsch, Edward Glover, Phyllis Greenacre, Heinz Hartmann, Willi Hoffer, Maurits Katan, and Rudolph M. Loewenstein. Originally published in psychoanalytic and psychiatric journals, the majority of these papers are available elsewhere. In the present volume each of them is preceded by an editorial synopsis. There are also several original contributions among the most notable of which are those by Arlow, Ekstein, Fliess, and Michaels.

Although the debt to the founder of psychoanalysis is acknowledged throughout the text (which includes a short biographical outline of Freud's life and work), it is somewhat disconcerting—at least in the opinion of this reviewer—that a collection of articles published expressly for the purpose of providing 'source material' on psychoanalysis does not contain a single work by Freud. I believe it was the Swiss philosopher, Ludwing Klages, who, asked what reading matter he would recommend to those interested in Freud's teachings, tersely replied: 'His own'.