The Psychiatric Foundation of Medicine: Edited by George U. Balis, Leon Wurmser, Ellen McDaniel, and Robert G. Grenell. Vol. I: Dimensions of Behavior; Vol. II: The Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Practice of Medicine; Vol. III: Basic Psychopathology; Vol. IV: Clinical Psychopathology; Vol. V: Psychiatric Clinical Skills in Medical Practice; Vol. VI: Psychiatric Problems in Medical Practice. Boston and London: Butter-worths Publishers, Inc., 1978.

This formidable work was written specifically as a textbook for medical students (a paperback edition is available) and physicians. The editors, justifying it on the basis of its comprehensive scope, state that "it contains the contributions of all the disciplines that are relevant to the behavioral, psychological, social, and humanistic

aspects of medicine, as well as the contributions of clinical psychiatry." The six volumes are organized in an evolving sequence, each presenting a progression of concepts as the student progresses through medical school.

The editors are right: this is a work of excellent quality, useful to medical students, psychiatrists, and the many psychoanalysts actively involved in teaching medical students and training psychiatrists. It would be more useful if Volume VI had a cumulative index, an omission that can be corrected in the second edition. Each volume does have a more than adequate index.

Given the scope of the text and the large number of authors representing many disciplines, it is surprising that so few of the contributions are deficient. In fact, the bulk of them range from very good to superb.

Psychoanalysis is well represented. With one exception, the lists of contributors do not indicate who are psychoanalysts. I identified the following as psychoanalysts, in addition to Wurmser and McDaniel: Eugene B. Brody, Hilde Bruch, George L. Engel, Robert Gibson, Ghislaine D. Godenne, Herbert S. Gross, Peter Hartocollis, John D. Rainer, Jon A. Shaw, and Julian L. Stamm. Wurmser's numerous contributions deal lucidly with many psychoanalytic topics, highlighting the importance of psychoanalysis in psychiatry.

The first two chapters in Volume I deserve special praise. "The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine" by Engel (reprinted from Science, 196: 129-136, 1977) is an elegant exposition of the author's biopsychosocial model. It is based on an incisive critique of the present medical model which, loaded as