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John Frosch, a leader in psychoanalysis for more than 40 years, is known to most students of psychiatry for his original contributions to the syndrome of “Psychotic Character,” now called borderline, and for some useful experiential concepts including reality constancy. There is no doubt that he deserves a prominent place in the history of clinical psychoanalytic theory and practice, and I approached these volumes with anticipation and excitement because I am highly impressed by his earlier writings.
These books, although broad-based and comprehensive, were somewhat disappointing; I think mainly because the purpose and audience were not clearly defined. Frosch says, “It should be very clear at the outset that this is not a textbook on psychodynamic psychiatry…” (p. 21). He then says he will concern himself with principles and sufficient detail to lend some understanding to psychodynamics and how these principles apply to the understanding of human behavior; a very general goal. However, in the epilogue he further clarifies the goals of his book; it now becomes a review of the contributions of psychoanalysis to psychiatry. He then makes reference to psychopharmacology and the psychodynamic approaches to psychopharmacological treatment and other physical treatments, but this particular aspect is not dealt with at all in his books. The epilogue also implies that the book should