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This large undertaking was designed to meet the public need for sound information on mental health presented in simple terms that the general reader could understand. Albert Deutsch who was appointed
Editor-in-Chief in 1960 wrote in the original Prospectus: 'The publishers have assured me that they want a sound compendium on mental health that could provide useful, authoritative information for the general public, and this is what I intend to give them'. Following his death in 1961, Helen Fishman became the Executive Editor.
The six volumes contain one hundred seventy original articles by one hundred forty authors and co-authors, a list of agencies, a bibliography, glossary, name index, and subject index. A board of consultants was selected to review the articles, write some themselves, and suggest authors. The articles are arranged alphabetically by title and, for the most part, the treatment is in the form of question and answer. The typical article is about twelve pages in length. The articles cover just about every conceivable subject from abortion to young adulthood.
An examination of these volumes will prove that a significant portion of the articles is extremely well done and provides an authoritative and comprehensive coverage for the layman of this broad field. Well-organized and well-written, it has an attractive format and is easy to use. There is probably no other work in the field that is comparable to this one in scope, treatment, and arrangement. The articles, clearly and carefully written with a minimal usage of technical terms, are refreshing to read. The question and answer treatment of the articles proves to be a help in the organization and clarity of the writing, and in readability.
Some of the articles seem disproportionately short or long. Adoption, for example, is given thirty-nine pages, Abortion twenty pages, whereas Anxiety is given only five pages (less than is given to the topic, Animal Psychology), and Ego is given only six p