Handbook of Character Studies: Psychoanalytic Explorations edited by Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries and Sidney Perzow Madison, CT:  International Universities Press, 1991,  xvi + 639 pp., $72.50

Those of us who have been interested in and pursued the study of “character” or have taught courses about character development or character pathology will appreciate the observation of the editors of this handbook that “much of the psychoanalytic writing on the subject of character has been scattered through the literature, and has been difficult for anyone to study…without expending considerable effort in tracking down and selecting appropriate readings” (p. 14). The Handbook of Character Studies attempts to do the work for us by providing a wide range of readings that take us from the origins of psychoanalytic characterology to contemporary contributions and views. Also presented are papers that grapple with controversial issues, old and new, from a variety of psychoanalytic orientations.

The handbook is divided into five sections. Section I, “Pioneers.” contains seven distinguished chapters. Three are significant early papers by Freud; one is a paper by Karl Abraham; two are from Wilhelm Reich's writings; and one is from the works of Otto Fenichel. All are musts for students of psychoanalytic characterology, particularly because of their additional historical perspective.