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In this book Mr. Bruce has made an effort to appeal to parents on behalf of a more intelligent effort in the bringing up of children, particularly upon the mental side. He has discussed in a simple, easily
understandable way such questions as the relation of heredity and environment, the element of suggestion in education, the problem of laziness, hysteria in childhood, the menace of fear, and other pertinent issues. The scientific man might easily find much that he could disagree with in Mr. Bruce's presentation. The psychoanalyst, for example, could very easily say that his examples are very superficial and do not touch the real explanations, but after all such criticisms would be beside the point.
This book is one in a large mass of literature which is being poured from the press these days on various aspects of applied psychology. The human animal has at last awakened both to the importance and to the absorbing interest of his psyche. The author of this work has for a considerable time been identified with this movement. He has published a number of articles and some previous books dealing with its various aspects. It is an extremely fortunate thing that popular literature should attract such writers who are able to put rather difficult matters into very simple language and make them as entertaining and readable as does Mr. Bruce. There is no doubt but that the layman in reading this work, while he might not get very profound scientific learning there from, would at least have his interest deeply stirred in practical psychology and would also get some vague glimmer at least of that great truth which so few, even medical men, seem to have seen at all as yet, namely, that there is meaning in psychic phenomena and that because a thing seems on the surface to be foolish that that is no reason it really is so.
White