Statistical data reveal that suicide is twice as frequent among black men between twenty and thirty-five years of age as among white men of the same age group. Black homicide also reaches its peak at this period. In a previous book, Suicide in Scandinavia, Hendin's thesis was that suicidal patients succumbed to the pressures felt by everyone in that culture. Accordingly, in his present book he interprets black suicide as arising from the anger and frustrations of the black ghetto. The clinical material in the book includes the case histories of twelve men and thirteen women who made serious but unsuccessful suicide attempts. Hendin's presentation of the patients' life histories and personality traits is clear and convincing, and the material is organized to derive general significance from individual cases.

Patterns seem to emerge from Hendin's case histories. First, black suicide and violence in the community are related. Young suicidal